Arnie demands more from his players as Sydney Derby looms

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold wasn’t celebrating too much after his Sydney FC side edged Adelaide United 1-0 on Friday night at Coopers Stadium in the Hyundai A-League. 

A well-taken goal from Brazilian striker Bobo was the difference between two sides, who also contested the FFA Cup Final just ten days ago. 

Sydney FC won the Cup Final too, but Arnie is demanding more from his ladder leaders as they begin preparations for the Sydney Derby next weekend. 

“There’s a lot more work to do,” he told Fox Sports after the game. 

“For 20-25 minutes we gave them [Adelaide] too much time on the ball.”

 

Adelaide v Sydney

Arnold pointed to his wingers being dragged back too much in the early part of the game, dropping back and allowing Adelaide to dictate play from the back. 

The Reds had 11 shots on goal, but only one on target. Sydney FC were more clinical with four of their seven shots on target. 

“Defence wins championships,” Arnold added.

“I probably didn’t expect them to hit as many diagonal balls in behind us as they did, but we adapted to that and I thought in the second half we were excellent.

“You’ve got to be able to win when you don’t play fantastic.

“Defence starts from the front [and strikers] Brosque and Bobo did a fantastic job.”