Sydney FC fell short for the first time in five games, losing 1-0 to a bottom-of-the-table Wellington Phoenix.
The result of Saturday’s match was classically unexpected. With the table-toppers going down to the cellar dwellers, it goes to show just how much statistics and table positions aren’t everything.
Wellington Phoenix came out strong from the beginning, finding the back of the net in the first 30 minutes and holding that position for the remainder of the match, with lots of chances throughout.
Sydney had their chances too, but overall seemed to be stretched and simply unable to step up to the intensity level which their visitors had established.
This follows last week’s victory over Western United, where Sydney FC claimed their three points, but suffered the loss of a number of players for various reasons in return.
In the absence of at least six of their starting players, including centre back Charlotte Mclean, keeper Jada Whyman, and captain Natalie Tobin, Sydney FC struggled to find their usual rhythm. Head coach, Ante Juric believes that this lack of starters was one of the main reasons for their downfall.
“I think the players that we lost are all leaders, and that hurt us today, that lack of leadership on the park,” Ante Juric said.
Juric expects that this won’t be the case next week, with majority of those players hoping to come back into the side for their Melbourne City clash. Natalie Tobin will return from her suspension and Jada Whyman is on the road to recovery from her concussion.
However, it is unknown how many weeks Charlotte Mclean will be out for as she has just undergone surgery for a shattered cheekbone following last week’s collision with Jada Whyman on the pitch.
Despite the current mess in the squad, and failure to secure another three points, Juric isn’t worried about their upcoming games in this last leg towards the finals rounds.
“We know what we need to do, today was just a tough day,” Juric said.
“It’s disappointing because you always want to win, and we’re a team that’s used to winning. We just weren’t at our best, not even close.”
Feature Image Credit: Speed Media
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