The Sky Blues made the short trip up to Gosford and came away with the three points last weekend. Some may say that Sydney FC were lucky, but the discarded hero Matt Simon ensured success for his new club.
Saturday’s game was a tightly contested and was one that could have gone either way. However, after Central Coast’s Nick Fitzgerald rightly received his marching orders, it was just a matter of time before it became one-way traffic.
The Mariners had their chances but failed to take them. This was in stark contrast to Sydney, who took their opportunities to record a 1oth straight away victory.
Shane Smeltz finally broke his duck, but while he opened the scoring, he still seemed out of form. The New Zealand international worked hard yet again but sometimes hard work is not enough. Smeltz was clearly outplayed by the hero of the game for the Sky Blues and their fans in Simon.
When Simon first played for Sydney in preseason, he just did not look like the type that would fit Graham Arnold’s evolving style. But with the start of the campaign proper, he has added a different dimension to the front line.
Simon’s effort and determination so far far outweighs Smeltz’s output. His efforts to completely close down a player, to the point of it being a late nudge or an aggressive tackle, puts opposition defenders in two minds. Smeltz is clearly not this type of player.
It helped that when the 29-year-old came on that Central Coast were already down to 10 men. His efforts to run, shutdown opponents and try and get into goal scoring positions is a thing to behold at the moment.
As the season is beginning to settle into a rhythm, Simon himself seems to improve during each game. He got into a number of good scoring positions against his former club and was probably unlucky not to get a hat-trick. The striker did score two great goals, a pair that any other in the world would be proud of.
Simon’s headed effort was particularly good. His technique and positioning to put the ball beyond the reach of Central Coast’s goalkeeper Paul Izzo is something that should be shown to any young child playing the game.
Simon is now well and truly pushing for a first-choice role Arnold needs to start thinking long and hard about Smeltz and whether he deserves his spot in the starting XI.
But as we have seen with Sydney’s games this season, it has not been all perfect.
Once again the defence was worrisome many times during the game. As Central Coast equalised within 90 seconds of conceding, Rhyan Grant was caught out down the left-flank.
Seb Ryall was also flat-footed at times too and occasionally also was Jacques Faty. It is therefore quite interesting that the most in-form defender for the club is Matt Jurman.
Jurman is not thought of too highly among the Sydney faithful. He is a player who is one-dimensional and has generally just been one doing a job.
This season has seen a marked improvement in the 25-year-old’s abilities. As a central-defender, his reading of the game has improved and he has so far made a number of important tackles that have either kept Sydney in the game or kept them ahead.
[interaction id=”563a042358d1f96a2cd69726″]
Collectively, there is still a lot of work to do defensively. Their cohesion seems to improve gradually but the league’s stingiest defence, there is not too much to complain about at the moment.
This week sees Sydney host the league’s other in-form side, Brisbane Roar. John Aloisi has revitalised the club on the pitch as they still struggle off it. It is this season’s first true big game, with Sydney first and Brisbane second in the standings and pits the league’s best defence against the league’s best attack. Friday night should provide onlookers with ample entertainment.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
