Sydney FC striker Alex Brosque said he was delighted to be back on the scoresheet with a “proper” goal in the 3-0 demolition of Perth Glory last weekend, but warned that the true test of the tactical changes which helped the Blues notch their first win of the season will come this weekend when they take on the in-form Brisbane Roar.
Sydney FC striker Alex Brosque said he was delighted to be back on the scoresheet with a “proper” goal in the 3-0 demolition of Perth Glory last weekend, but warned that the true test of the tactical changes which helped the Blues notch their first win of the season will come this weekend when they take on the in-form Brisbane Roar.
“I scored a penalty against Adelaide but I’ve been waiting since round one for an actual proper goal so I’m happy,” said Brosque, who found himself playing higher up the park in Perth than he is normally accustomed to.
“Viteslav has given me more of an attacking role and relieved me of some defensive duties. It’s different, I found myself at times neither here nor there so over the coming weeks if we continue that way I’ll get used to it more, but I enjoy it.”
Brosque admitted the win in Perth offered a big moral boost for the team, especially with what is sure to be a tough home game against a highly mobile Brisbane side boasting just one defeat in eleven games this season.
“We have done a bit of homework on that and watched videos on how they move off the ball so I think that is a big reason for our formation change last week – in the middle of the park and defensively to make sure we’ve got enough numbers and not get sucked into following players running around. As long as we keep shape we’ve seen teams frustrate them before so we’re going to try and do the same thing.”
Coach Viteslav Lavicka made several tactical and personnel changes against Perth, which Brosque believes has served the team well by keeping both young and old players on their toes.
“It’s tough to get dropped and see the team do well but at the same time it means the pressure for places shows no one can be comfortable. I guess what the coach was doing last week was putting everyone on notice, regardless of who you are and how good you are you can easily find yourself on the bench for a couple of weeks. But those guys are professionals, they will work hard and it’s good actually to see this week how their intensity has lifted to make sure the boys who’ve come in have got a real task on their hands to keep their spot.”
“I think this year the way we started we needed something to freshen the boys and change things up a little bit. It worked last week which was great but I think it’s a bigger test this one against a Brisbane team who have put a lot of sides to the sword this year. We’re at home so we have to throw everything at them just like we did last week. If we can match them intensity-wise I think we’ve got more than enough confidence in ourselves to go on and do the job.
It’s a big match this one, obviously we needed to get that first win but now we need to build on that.”
Sydney FC take on Brisbane Roar at 5.15pm this Saturday at the Sydney Football Stadium in a special double header program that will see Central Coast Mariners play Perth Glory at 7.30pm.
