Wanderers forward Roly Bonevacia on how he used coach Markus Babbell’s criticism as fuel

ROLY Bonevacia admits it was surprising to read his own coach had called him a “sloppy player” — but it was that criticism that fuelled the Wanderers forward to save the game against Perth Glory.

Bonevacia needed to focus on the basics again. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)

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ROLY Bonevacia admits it was a little surprising to read his own coach had called him a “sloppy player”.

But the Western Sydney forward also knew exactly what Markus Babbel meant, and used the constructive criticism as positive fuel to score the equaliser in Sunday’s 1-1 season-opening draw with Perth Glory at nib Stadium.

This month Babbel explained why he’d moved Bonevacia away from his favoured attacking midfield role to the wing, observing that despite his pace and technical ability, “his passes are sometimes awful”.

Bonevacia needed to focus on the basics again. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)

The 27-year-old Dutchman said he’d already had a conversation with his new coach about his performance.

“He told me all the time what he expects for me,” Bonevacia said.

“He also told me (that) on the easy things I make mistakes and the hard things I’m unbelievable. That’s what he means by me being a sloppy player.

“When you read it you’re like ‘oh wow, that’s hard on me’ but I understand it and I agree as well.

“He’s going to help me, to make me a better player and improve my game. It might hurt at the time but it will help you in the long run.”

The striker made his value clear against Perth. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Tony Popovic’s Glory took the lead against his former side via Andy Keogh during a dominant first half, after which a fired-up Babbel delivered a speech to “wake up” his dozing team.

“He said many things, to play for our family, for the fans, for the people who want to watch us play.

“It wasn’t good enough for our fans in the first half and the second half we had to compete.

“Before the game I said to some teammates ‘I will score a goal for you’. I felt like I could have scored more to win the game.”

With a point to show for the stalling start, the Wanderers will regroup for this weekend’s Sydney derby.

Saturday’s showdown at the SCG will land three weeks to the day since a strong-but-wasteful first half allowed Sydney FC to run away with three second-half goals and the FFA Cup semi-final.

The Sydney derby will be a huge test for the Wanderers. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)

For Bonevacia the rematch also means more banter with former Ajax teammate Siem de Jong, who scored a cracking free-kick for the Sky Blues that night at Panthers Stadium.

“They got lucky there — few shots, few goals,” Bonevacia said.

“The main thing for us is to show balls and don’t respect the team we play against. No respect at all.

“Don’t be scared and we’ll be fine. Of course we respect the players, but when we step on the field and start the game, we should be ruthless.”

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Originally published as Wanderers forward Roly Bonevacia on how he used coach Markus Babbell’s criticism as fuel