A special fan in the Leichhardt Oval crowd may have provided the perfect inspiration for Kosta Barbarouses to finally land his first Hyundai A-League goal for Sydney FC.
The New Zealand international was desperate to get off the mark for the Sky Blues after going goalless in each of the first three rounds for his new club.
It included three glaring misses in the derby defeat to Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend, where Barbarouses had an Expected Goals (xG) rating of 1.03, but failed to find the net.
The 29-year-old attacker has never had a higher xG in a match without scoring. So the pressure was on heading into Friday night’s clash with Newcastle Jets at Leichhardt Oval.
Watching from the stands was Barbarouses six-week old daughter Lola, who was attending her first Hyundai A-League match.
REPORT: Sydney FC respond to Derby defeat with big win over Jets
MINI MATCH: Watch Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets
There was a special little guest 👶 in the crowd tonight to witness Kosta Barbarouses' first goal for @SydneyFC!
🎥: @FoxFootball #SYDvNEW #ALeague pic.twitter.com/OpyOqzFko0
— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) November 1, 2019
It was fitting then that Barbarouses managed to break his mini-drought win the final goal in Sydney’s convincing 4-1 win.
“I’m pretty hard on myself when I don’t score. I know that’s what I’m here for,” Barbarouses told Fox Sports when asked if he was relieved to get off the mark.
“Lucky enough the boys were picking up the slack the first couple of weeks but I was disappointed last week.
“Losing the game, especially a derby and having a couple of good chances, it was pretty tough. I needed to get off the mark and I’m glad that I did tonight.”
He added: “I’m on top of the world at the moment. This means everything to me.
“The Cove [Sydney FC’s supporter group] have accepted me and the reaction after me scoring was fantastic.”
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6099695144001
The win takes the Sky Blues back to the top of the ladder, at least until Western Sydney Wanderers do battle with Brisbane Roar on Saturday.
Sydney FC have the bye next weekend before a blockbuster Big Blue in Round 6 against Melbourne Victory, Barbarouses former club.
“It’s probably it’s a good thing at home rather than over there [in Melbourne] to begin with,” said Barbarouses with a smile.
“They are going to have a lot of travelling fans there as well. It’s definitely one for the calendar and one I’m looking forward to, seeing a few of the boys.
“It looks like it’s a bit of a new team [at Victory] as well. It’s going to be a tough game.”
BABBEL v FOWLER: Liverpool remembers two former stars ahead of Saturday showdown
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: All the announcements from new boys Macarthur FC
