Sydney FC manager Graham Arnold says he hatched a plan to exploit a perceived weakness in Brisbane Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young’s game prior to the clash between the two sides, and the result was two spectacular goals and a superb away win.
Austrian import Marc Janko latched onto a Young clearance in the first half before chesting the ball down and smacking a spectacular volley into an open net from 40 metres, before Milos Dimitrijevic curled in a stunner from outside the box in the second half to seal an impressive 2-0 win for the Sky Blues at Suncorp Stadium.
Sydney looked the more dangerous side throughout, even though a lacklustre Brisbane controlled much of the possession, but it took Janko’s wonderstrike to break the game open.
Arnold was full of praise for the Austrian national team captain, promising that he will only get better as the season progresses.
“We haven’t seen anywhere near the best of him,” Arnold said of the 31-year-old.
“If you see what he does at training, he’s frightening at times.
“We probably learnt a lesson off Melbourne Heart last year with (Orlando) Engelaar.
“So he’s not training at full tilt yet, we’re trying to nurse him through training and he’s probably training at about 60 percent.
“But his qualities are enormous and that goal tonight was fantastic, and that shows the skills that he has.”
The Roar are missing first-choice goalkeeper Michael Theo through injury, and poor positioning by his replacement played a part in both of Sydney’s goals.
Video analysis of Brisbane’s 3-2 loss to Perth Glory in Round 2 showed a flaw in Young’s technique, which Arnold told his players to be aware of, he said.
“Look, he’s a fair way off his line,” Arnold said.
“We noticed it against Perth Glory last week because we analysed that.
“And I spoke to Dimitrijevic and (Terry) Antonis before the game about if they get the opportunity from 30 yards, just try and clip the crossbar, because he’s always a good seven or eight metres out off his line, and if he’s not going to expect it then that’s going to happen.”
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