Sydney FC travel up the F3 to face Newcastle in an early season clash between NSW rivals. The pre-game banter in the media between Miller and Arnold has been great and is EXACTLY the sort of fresh, no fear of the establishment that a young coach brings to the league. Keep ruffling those feathers Scotty!
Newcastle Jets squad: 1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 2.Daniel MULLEN, 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI (c), 6.Cameron WATSON, 7.Enver ALIVODIC, 8.Mateo POLJAK, 9.Milos TRIFUNOVIC, 10.LEONARDO, 11.Labinot HALITI, 14.Mitch COOPER, 15.Themba MUATA-MARLOW, 17.Radovan PAVICEVIC, 20.Ben KENNEDY (gk), 23.David CARNEY, 24.Nick COWBURN, 25.Brandon LUNDY, 29.Andrew PAWIAK. **Two to be omitted**
Ins: 17.Radovan PAVICEVIC (promoted), 24.Nick COWBURN (promoted), 25.Brandon LUNDY (promoted), 29.Andrew PAWIAK (promoted)
Outs: 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (suspended – 1 week), 13.Lee KI-JE (virus – 1 week)
Unavailable: nil
Newcastle looked good… or were made to look good by a rusty Phoenix side in week 1. To me Leonardo looked light, fragile and one who looks for fouls. Something that obviously doesn’t fit in with the culture of the A-League. Looking for him to settle here.
On the positive side, it was great to see our Super Dave back happy and playing well. Will always have a soft spot for the lad.
I’ll leave the rest of the Jets commentary to those more informed than I and move onto worrying about our own.
Sydney FC Squad: 1.Vedran JANJETOVIC (gk), 2.Seb RYALL, 3.Alex GERSBACH, 5.Matt JURMAN, 6.Rob STAMBOLZIEV, 8.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 9.Shane SMELTZ, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Christopher NAUMOFF, 13.Brandon O’NEILL, 14.Alex BROSQUE (c), 18.Matt SIMON, 19.Jacques FATY, 20.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 21.Filip HOLOSKO, 23.Rhyan GRANT, 24.George BLACKWOOD, 27.Mickael TAVARES. **Two to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Christopher NAUMOFF (return from international duty), 6.Robert STAMBOLZIEV (promoted)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: 7.Andrew HOOLE (suspended – 1 week), 22.Ali ABBAS (knee – indefinite)
———Janjetovic
–Ryall–Faty–Jurman–Gersbach
——O’Neil–Dimitrijevic
–Naumoff–Ninkovic–Brosque
———-Smeltz
Necevski
Grant
Tavares
Holosko
Simon
Grant by far the most unlucky player in the squad. With limited space on the bench there could even be no room for the superstar even in the matchday squad! With Arnold needing the substitute flexibility of a specialist central defender on the bench, this could again see no space for Grant or Woodcock (who we assume is injured).
I like the idea of Ryall being the CB cover, with Grant being able to play both left and right fullback on the bench but I’m not holding my breath on this one as it looks like Ryall’s days of playing in the middle are long gone.
O’Neil surely keeps his place ahead of Tavares who will have to bide his time and earn his spot back. In a long season full of Asian Champions League commitments, resting the older legs through the early matches of the domestic season could be a blessing in disguise anyway.
What I loved most about O’Neil at DM is his positivity and speed of release. There is nothing more frustrating than watching a DM who dwells on the ball, turning back and forwards before releasing a backward ball. Keep an eye on the speed that O’Neil gets things started with and the opportunities that come off it today.
Holosko is reportedly 50/50 and for this reason I’d like to see Naumoff thrown into the starting side. As I said in my season preview, this is the make or break year for Naumoff and Arnie has to give him the chance to take it. Holosko was a little underdone anyway and easing the 2 into the season together and giving some healthy competition sounds like the best outcome for all involved.
I also have been talking about Brosque cutting in which would leave the wing open for the left fullback to attack into. Grant did a great job getting forward and I expect the same thing from Gersbach. There didn’t seem to be the balance issues last week that I thought might arise, but with young guys in the fullback position alone, older heads opposing them on the wing could really exploit this if Sydney aren’t careful.
The tactical difference in round 1 against Manchester Tax Dodge was noticeable. The new boys gave Sydney the speed and movement required to pull of the change of style and it was exciting to watch. When it clicks, Sydney are going to tear teams to shreds on their day. That day may as well be today!
Sydney FC Insider 