Slater: Time for Sydney FC to step up after average start to the year, Auckland’s big test

Socceroos great ROBBIE SLATER and MARCO MONTEVERDE put the blowtorch on Sydney FC, who have under delivered after being tipped to win the title, and dissect the game’s big issues.

Socceroos great ROBBIE SLATER and MARCO MONTEVERDE put the blowtorch on Sydney FC, who have underdelivered after being tipped to win the title, and dissect the A-Leagues’ biggest issues in On The Attack.

Sydney needs to shine

It’s time for the real Sydney FC to stand up.

The Sky Blues were tipped by many to win the A-League title before the season started, and with good reason, considering their squad includes prized off-season import Douglas Costa, star English winger Joe Lolley, lethal Polish marksman Patryk Klimala, recently capped Socceroo Anthony Caceres, and talented midfielders Leo Sena and Anas Ouahim.

With those players at their disposal, the Sydneysiders should have a better record of nine points from six A-League games.

Sydney FC’s stars like Joe Lolley need to help the Sky Blues to a better record. Picture: Getty Images

Three wins and three losses isn’t good enough for a team of Sydney’s ilk.

Having had additional AFC Champions League Two matches, and the subsequent travel involved, wouldn’t have helped the Sky Blues’ cause.

However, one of their major problems has been a lack of discipline.

Sydney has already had three players – midfielder Max Burgess, defender Hayden Matthews and goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares – sent off in A-League games this season.

Not surprisingly, the Sky Blues have lost two of the three games in which they have been reduced to 10 players.

It can’t go on if Sydney is to challenge for the premiership, which brings with it a place in next season’s AFC Champions League Elite competition, and the championship.

No doubt that Ufuk Talay has emphasised that to his players this week ahead of Saturday’s clash with Western United

Sydney FC coach Ufuk Talay must have this team primed to bounce back. Picture: Getty Images

This is a game in which the Sky Blues should be dominant.

Western United is in the bottom four and should be there for the taking.

It’s time Sydney went on a run of positive results, and not having continental commitments until February will allow Talay’s men to devote their full attention to the A-League for several weeks.

It’s still early in the campaign, and the sixth-paced Sky Blues have plenty of time to move up the ladder.

However, they are already nine points behind leaders Auckland FC, so they need to start reducing the gap.

SILLY SCHEDULING

With crowds needing to improve, the APL’s decision to schedule Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers home matches back-to-back on Saturday night makes no sense.

We’re sure there are plenty of football fans in NSW who would have liked the chance to attend both of the games featuring Sydney’s two biggest clubs.

But they won’t have the chance to because of the way the games have been scheduled.

If the APL is going to have Sydney and Western Sydney playing home matches on the same weekend, at the very least they shouldn’t be played on the same day, particularly not one after the other.

Western Sydney Wanderers will play a home game on the same day at Sydney FC. An APL spokesman conceded the scheduling was “not ideal”. Picture: Getty Images

Of the six A-League men’s games this weekend, four are being played on Saturday.

Only one is being played on Sunday, and that’s in Melbourne, so there’s no reason why one of two games in Sydney on Saturday could not have been moved to Sunday.

When contacted by On The Attack, an APL spokesman conceded the scheduling was “not ideal”.

“We try to avoid two games in the same city on the same day … but we couldn’t this weekend,” he said.

Hopefully the APL will try harder in the future.

TEST FOR AUCKLAND

If the game of the round is supposed to be played in the Saturday night prime-time slot, then this weekend it should be the Melbourne City-Auckland FC game, which is instead taking place on Sunday at 5pm (AEDT) at AAMI Park.

Auckland is absolutely flying at the moment, and has the chance to become the first team since Melbourne Victory in 2006 to win its opening seven matches of an A-League season.

What the Black Knights have already done in their debut season is incredible.

It hasn’t been just winning games, but also their effort to only concede one goal has been superb.

However, Sunday perhaps looms as Auckland’s toughest test to date.

Auckland FC’s strong support has made it a debut season to remember so far. Picture: Getty Images

It will only be the second time they have had to travel to Australia for an A-League game, with the other one ­­– a 1-0 win over Macarthur FC last month – having been played at a neutral venue as it took place in Unite Round.

In Melbourne City, the Black Knights are meeting a team that finally kicked into gear last week with a 4-1 thrashing of Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium.

While beating the last-placed Roar isn’t hard this season, the nature of City’s win was impressive, as was the form of imports Andreas Kuen and Yonatan Cohen.

It was just the performance City needed to kick-start its previously lacklustre campaign.

There is no doubt that City coach Aurelio Vidmar will have his players up for Sunday’s match, with Auckland already having become the hunted.

However, the Black Knights will want to further prove they are the real deal, and hopefully a classic battle will take place.

CRUNCH TIME

Down the opposite end of the ladder, Perth Glory have a great chance to win for the first time this season when they host fellow strugglers Newcastle on Saturday night.

Glory coach David Zdrilic needs to start winning games if he’s to keep his job, and the same can probably be said for his Jets counterpart Rob Stanton.

Perth Glory coach David Zdrilic is under pressure to keep his job. Picture: Getty Images

However, it’s Zdrilic under more pressure. Plenty was expected of him when he took charge of the Glory in the off-season but what Perth has dished up so far this season has been totally unacceptable.

ODD APPOINTMENTS

Fair enough that new referees boss Jon Moss is wanting to see a host of match officials in action, but his decision to not give any of the A-League’s three top referees – Alex King, Alireza Faghani and Shuan Evans – a game this weekend is baffling.

It’s OK to give some fresh faces an opportunity, but surely at least one of the top three should be assigned a game every round.

Of course, King, Faghani and Evans shouldn’t be excluded from being axed for a round if a previous performance wasn’t up to scratch, but it’s astonishing that none of them are in charge of one of the six games this weekend, particularly when there were no AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two games played in the past week.

Originally published as Slater: Time for Sydney FC to step up after average start to the year, Auckland’s big test