How Sydney striker Alex Brosque found golden goal touch — and now has a personal best in his sights

ALEX Brosque is currently having one of the best seasons of his life and his great form has helped propel Sydney FC to the top of the ladder.

Alex Brosque of Sydney celebrates after scoring a goal during the round 16 A-League match between the Sydney FC and Adelaide United at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

EVEN Alex Brosque admits that “being a poacher has never been my strong point” but it’s what the Sydney FC captain has become — and that’s a major reason his club are top of the league.

With nine goals, Brosque is not only the Sky Blues’ leading scorer, he needs only one more to set a personal best for an A-League season — and two for his most prolific campaign ever.

Hitting either of those targets on Thursday night would resonate particularly for Brosque as it would mean him improving on a ratio of just four goals in 24 games against opponents Melbourne Victory.

It would also help his side avoid the defeat that Victory desperately need to inflict to start reeling in the runaway league leaders, and in the process take Brosque closer to the league’s leading scorer, Besart Berisha.

The other interesting part to these numbers is that two years ago was the other time Brosque scored nine goals in Australia, his highest tally in the A-League until this campaign.

At 33, his goalscoring threat is growing with age, not diminishing.

Brosque is in some of the best form of his career.

As our graphic shows, all but one of his goals this year have come in the area Graham Arnold calls the “danger zone”, a patch from the penalty spot to the goal and the width of the six-yard box.

“Starting in pre-season we did a lot of work with Arnie using video of where the best teams in the world score,” said Brosque.

“We’ve got a few drills and exercises to work on this, so it’s no surprise most of our goals are coming that way.

“It’s partly the style of football — pressing high up the pitch and winning the ball back in good areas so that we’re quickly in a position to do some damage.

“Our game plan is good, overloading out wide so that as the central guys we don’t have to go out chasing the ball. We have the numbers around the box to play combinations, and Milos Ninkovic is in the kind of form that any forward run you make you think he’ll find you with a pass.”

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Only once before has Brosque hit double figures, scoring 10 times in his first season at Al Ain in the UAE after joining from the J-League.

That’s despite it being a yearly target. With 11 games to go, the odds against setting a new personal best are short.

“It’s my target every season, because I’m keen to play my part goals-wise,” Brosque said. “But I didn’t expect to hit a purple patch like this at this stage of my career.

“It’s down to the chances I’m getting, what we’re creating.”

As for his record against Victory, that ratio is the latest number to be tested in a record-breaking season for the Sky Blues.

“It’s hard to know why your record against certain teams is better or worse, especially as players change over the years,” he said.

“Victory certainly isn’t a team I fear, and I’m confident we can do well against them. In fact five or six goals in 25 games has a better ring about it …”

Originally published as How Sydney striker Alex Brosque found golden goal touch — and now has a personal best in his sights