Luke Brattan has back his side to put the defeat against Wellington Phoenix behind them as they hit the final matches of the season.
The Sky Blues went ahead early through Robbie Mak but two goals in the second half from the hosts turned the tide of the contest and the Nix were able to sit back in a low block and prevent any clear cut chances.
After going ahead and looking in control in that first half, Brattan praised his side’s effort both with and without the ball that had the league leaders shocked.
“Today we started very well and everyone talks about our press but I think with the ball we were decent as well.
“However, Wellington are a fantastic team and they’re top of the table for a reason. They’ve got some fantastic players and there was a great atmosphere tonight,” he said.
“But second half, I just don’t think we were up to it. We were poor with the ball and we were poor defensively.”
Having gone on an eight game unbeaten run, the Sky Blues were one of the form teams in the league and their destiny is still in their hands with two matches against Mariners and Macarthur remaining in their run in, two teams who are above them.
Currently sitting fifth with 31 points with a game in hand, after the international break, they will have a massive week, taking on the Mariners at home before an away trip to Perth midweek and a journey up the M1 to take on the Jets on the Sunday.
With this crucial schedule and run in, Brattan backs his side to put the defeat behind them and maximise their points from their remaining matches.
“I don’t think there’s an easy game in the league.
“Every team has their strengths and I think we need to concentrate on ourselves,” Brattan said.
“If we stick to the game plan that Uffy wants then we can beat anyone so it is a tough one coming up but if we want to win something we need to beat these teams.”
