Adam Le Fondre earns praise from Sydney FC teammates for his work ethic

Adam Le Fondre’s goal returns for Sydney FC guarantee his status as a star import, but it is his embrace of the Aussie work ethic that has impressed his Sky Blues teammates.

Adam Le Fondre celebrates a goal with teammates. Picture: Getty Images

Adam Le Fondre’s goal returns for Sydney FC guarantee his status as a star import, but it is his embrace of the Aussie work ethic that has impressed his Sky Blues teammates.

The experienced forward’s brace against Brisbane Roar took his A-League tally for the season to nine, and he leads the race for the Golden Boot.

The much-travelled 32-year-old has swapped Championship football with Bolton Wanderers for a fresh start in sunny Sydney and his Sky Blues teammates are delighted that he is thriving Down Under.

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Club skipper Alex Brosque has nothing but praise for Le Fondre ahead of tonight’s clash against the struggling Central Coast Mariners.

“The goals are the easy thing to point out but for me it’s the all-round energy and work-rate,” Brosque said.

“For the young kids, especially, they can learn so much off him.

“He’s a natural goalscorer. He’ll poach a goal but he also understands that in Australia there’s not that much difference between the teams.

“We’re a country that likes to work hard. All 11 players work hard for each other and he’s someone who has adopted that very quickly and easily here because it comes naturally to him.

“That’s something I noticed about ‘Alfie’ straight away and I hoped that would also translate into goals for him. I am glad he’s getting that recognition.”

Adam Le Fondre celebrates a goal against the Roar last week. Picture: Getty Images

Brosque is not alone in hailing Le Fondre’s willingness to graft.

Go back a decade and the altogether less glamorous surroundings of Rochdale in England’s north and the assessment is the same.

Le Fondre began his career at Stockport County, coming through the club’s youth system and eventually making a scoring senior debut for the side in a 2004 win over Bury.

After 63 appearances and 18 goals for the club, he made the switch in 2007 to Rochdale, initially on loan, and impressed sufficiently to secure a permanent move.

Former Bolton Wanderers defender Charlie Comyn-Platt joined Rochdale in a loan move from then third-tier club Swindon Town at the same time as Le ­Fondre.

He remembers not one but two forwards who would impress at Rochdale before going on to bigger and better things.

“He and Glenn Murray, now in the Premier League with Brighton, were both playing up front for Rochdale in League Two,” Comyn-Platt said.

“They both had a good work ethic.”

Le Fondre shoots for goal. Picture: AAP

Comyn-Platt, who had spells Down Under with West Australian side ECU Joona­dalup (2009-10 and 2012), follows Le Fondre’s fortunes from afar because he is good friends with Sydney FC’s Brandon O’Neill.

“I know him and his family well from my time at ECU,” said Comyn-Platt, who returned to the UK to work for Liverpool’s International Academy and also League Two club Oldham ­Athletic.

Le Fondre and his teammates now turn their attention to the visit of the Mariners, with the A-League cellar dwellers still smarting from a New Year’s Eve 4-1 thrashing by Perth Glory.

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Tommy Oar will strive to make the net bulge against Sydney FC on Friday night but without an embarrassing collapse to follow.

The Central Coast Mariners saw their New Year’s Eve defeat by Perth Glory blighted by a lengthy 40-minute delay following a broken set of goalposts.

The bizarre scene added to what has been a thoroughly miserable campaign so far for the winless Gosford outfit but Oar, back in the side after injury, won’t allow doom and gloom to set in.

“You can’t really prepare for those type of situations — broken goalposts — it’s a freak event,” Oar told The Daily Telegraph.

“But we can’t dwell on it and we’re now looking forward to the Sydney FC game.

“From a personal point of view I think I’ve missed seven games and I was itching to get back out there. I’m confident I can get my (match) fitness back and help the team turn things around.

“We’re looking to be a tighter unit and not leak goals so easily but we also need to be more dangerous and clinical at the other end.

“For sure that’s something I think I can help the team with, creating goals and scoring a few as well.”

Tommy Oar returned to the Mariners line-up last week. Picture: Getty Images

“There’s a number of players coming back from injury and now we’ve almost a full squad to choose from.

“All the older players in the team, we have a big responsibility to keep the team positive and keep everyone training hard.

“If you drop your head and stop working hard then things won’t turn around. But everyone has been training hard and that theattitude is spot on.”

Sydney FC will provide another stiff test for Mike Mulvey’s side but at least left-sided Oar won’t have the challenge of trying to skip past Rhyan Grant.

The Sky Blues right back is away on Asian Cup duty with the Socceroos.

“Sydney have class players but last time we played them we caused them problems and we know we have the firepower to hurt them,” Oar said.

“Rhyan Grant is a fantastic player and a good guy but with most A-League teams these days the depth of the talent pool is getting much bigger. Sydney have had Paulo Retre play there and he’s obviously an established A-League player.

“But like I said, we’re not really too focused on who will or won’t be playing for them.”

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