Sydney FC head coach Ufuk Talay has challenged his side to keep the feel-good factor going ahead of this weekend’s Isuzu UTE A-League clash with Macarthur Bulls.
The Sky Blues head into Sunday’s game at Leichhardt Oval on a high after thrashing Australia Cup champions Newcastle Jets 4-1 in Round 3.
Key to that impressive victory in the Hunter was forward Al Hassan Toure, who bagged an impressive hat-trick in the heavy rout, with Talay keen to keep hold of the momentum following back-to-back wins in the league.
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“I think winning games becomes infectious. It becomes a habit,” said Talay when speaking at his pre-game press conference on Thursday morning.
“I’m happy for Al to get his three goals and even Woody (striker Patrick Wood) coming on and scoring two weeks in a row.
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“So for me, it doesn’t really matter who scores, as long as we score and win the game. But it’s nice for those guys, especially playing those positions, who we rely on, scoring those goals.”
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The 33-year-old won a Premiership, two Championships and an Australia Cup during a trophy-laden stint which saw him play 216 games for Sydney FC.
“We’re always going to have a player that’s worn the Sky Blue jersey at some stage in their career, that’s gone to another club,” said Talay when discussing the prospect of facing his former player on Sunday.
“But look for me, Cas is someone special. I think he’s a great human being, a great family man, and also a very, very good player as well.”
He continued: “It’s disappointing that we lost Cas, but this is football, it happens within the game. Players make decisions on what they feel is best for their families and their futures.
“I’m hoping that he doesn’t have a good game against us.”
With two wins from their opening three games the Sky Blues have recovered well from their opening round loss to Adelaide United.
In contrast, Macarthur have picked up four points from their opening three rounds after losing to Brisbane Roar, beating Adelaide United and then most recently drawing 1-1 with local rivals Western Sydney Wanderers.
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Crucially, though, the Bulls have also had to contend with a busy AFC Champions League Two fixture list which has seen them play one home game as well as two matches in Vietnam and Hong Kong respectively.
Furthermore, Mile Sterjovski’s Bulls will head into Sunday’s game at Leichhardt Oval having played on Thursday night in Campbelltown when they face Vietnamese side Cong an Hanoi FC on matchday four of the ACL Two – a competition of which Sydney FC reached the semi-final stage last season.
“Obviously, it’s a challenge within the A-League squads to being able to back up. You need the depth in the squads to play in both competitions. They’ve done a good job thus far,” said Talay when discussing the challenges of juggling both competitions.
“Look, I want all our Australian teams to do well in these competitions, because they’re representing their team and also representing the country in Asia.
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“So we want them to have success, so we can have more teams playing in these competitions.”
He added: “But it does become a challenge to back it up again. But I think they’ll be looking forward to the occasion this evening, and then I think it’ll be a great occasion on Sunday afternoon as well.”
