Sydney FC vs Sutherland Sharks

Let us never speak of the 2^nd year of the A-League EVER again!

Tonight Sydney played the Sutherland Sharks NSW Premier League side in a trial down at Seymour Shaw on their new plastic pitch. It wasn’t really what I expected it to be like, much thinner actually but the complexity was like grass and the game was just like it was on grass. The way of the future I say!

Oh yeah, the game…. Well it ended 1-1 with both goals coming in the 2^nd half. Sydney had a depleted lineup due to injury and U23’s international duty over in China and lined up in the first half like this:

----------------Pasfield----------------
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Middleby---Rudan---Fyfe---Tsattalios
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Corica----Talay----Spencer----Carney
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-----------Zdrilic---Brosque-----------

Corica was ineffective out wide which we already knew from Littbarski and Butcher experiments but I suppose another year and another coach and the experimenting will begin again. Please can we keep this one! Corica is such an important player in the side and I really don’t want to see him wasted out wide when a donkey such as Spencer is playing in the middle. Maybe he could learn a thing or two about passing and vision from Talay who played as he always does in the middle.

Zdrilic was also his usual ‘donkeyesque’ self throughout the match, missing sitters, not getting into good positions to receive the ball. You know the usual stuff we all expect from him now. I talked the guy up before the match, saying that I can see Branko getting the best out of him and that he will have a big third season with the club. Don’t make me a liar David.

Tsattalios and Middleby playing the wingback roles that we played so poorly over the last two seasons looked an improvement. I would much rather see these two lineup together out wide than Ceccoli and Zadkovich.

The central defense pairing of Fyfe and Rudan was although not watertight still solid. We all know what we are getting with these two players and I don’t really have a problem with either. (Why couldn’t we have gotten Milicivic though L I mean what a signing for Melbourne!)

Second half saw a few changes and some real positives for me.

-----------------Bouzanis-----------------
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Middleby---Rudan---Fyfe---Tsattalios
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Casey----------Spencer----------Carney
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-----------------Brosque-----------------
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------------Zdrilic----Glavas------------

Brosque dropped back and got much more involved in the play. It seemed as though every positive move that Sydney was involved in had Brosque playing a part somehow. I have said time and time again that his best position is just behind the strikers and now we have some more players to play with I hope this is where he stays. Zdrilic and Glavas didn’t impress me but I am very willing to give them both more of a chance under Branko.

Adam Casey is the other player who I didn’t expect much from but impressed me tonight. Seemed to consistently beat his man down the wing and cut in well. He got lucky on a few where the ball seemed to just drop at his feet but he reminded me of a season 1 Carney. The real Carney (on the left however) was again a shadow of his former self and didn’t do much except get tackled and made a fool of. I laughed to myself that this little kid in front of me kept calling him Zadkovich and arguing with his friend that it wasn’t Carney. Was that because he expected Carney to be good? Oh innocent minds… He was eventually subbed for Brockie. Enough said.

Glavas has been described to me as a Brosque clone but I couldn’t really see the resemblance tonight at all. Poor first touch, jumping around aimlessly and just not really up to the standard expected. Sure they didn’t mean Zdrilic?

Bouzanis, the young keeper, looked like someone to keep your eye on. Made some awesome saves down low and the goal definitely wasn’t his fault. Although he wont get any game time, hopefully the experience of the Asian trip and working with Jim Fraser will be beneficial for his career. You can’t help but wonder whether the Liverpool academy wouldn’t be the best place for him to be right now though.

I’m not going to read too much into the result or the effort as it was a midweek trial against a State League side on a plastic pitch but for me there were enough positive signs that the future at least looks a little brighter. I know how many of the other trials I can make but we will see. God I can’t wait for the Champions League to start!

DANE