Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka believes the availability of Mark Bridge, Liam Reddy and Shannon Cole will help the Sky Blues sustain the momentum gained by defeating Adelaide United 2-1 in Adelaide when they take on Melbourne Heart this Saturday night.
Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka believes the availability of Mark Bridge, Liam Reddy and Shannon Cole will help the Sky Blues sustain the momentum gained by defeating Adelaide United 2-1 in Adelaide when they take on Melbourne Heart this Saturday night.
Bridge (suspension), Cole (calf injury) and Reddy (quad injury) all watched from home as Sydney FC dominated Adelaide United to come away from Hindmarsh Stadium with all three points.
While Bridge is certain to be back into the squad after returning from suspension, Cole and Reddy are also expected to make a return after missing the trip to Adelaide with a call to be made later in the week on their availability.
The possible return of the trio leaves Lavicka with a dilemma as he watched his side dismantle Adelaide, one of the favourites for the A-League title.
“It-s true we have some players to return next week,” Lavicka said. “Bridgey will be available and we will check on the fitness of Shannon (Cole) and Liam (Reddy) but we hope they will be available.
“Against Adelaide we played good football, like we have against Melbourne Victory in the first week and Brisbane Roar last week but we also took our chances against Adelaide, which is good for the confidence.
“It will mean some decisions with the selection but it is good problem for us.”
Ivan Necevski played well in goals for Sydney FC and could not be faulted at all for his performance, pulling off some good saves, commanding his penalty area and he was certainly not at fault for the goal while the Sydney FC midfield started to combine well with the front line.
Adding further food for thought for Lavicka was the performance of Rhyan Grant and Dimi Petratos off the bench. Grant in particular played well, getting forward on several occasions in attack and working hard to shut down Adelaide in midfield as the home team pushed forward for an equaliser.
Sydney FC takes on Melbourne Heart at AAMI Park (Melbourne) this Saturday night (29 October). Kick off for the match is 7.45pm.
