Hurting after a loss to their fierce local rivals, Sydney FC may not get any respite with Alessandro Del Piero no certainty to return for next week’s trip to Perth.
Hurting after a loss to their fierce local rivals and struggling badly to score goals, Sydney FC may not get any respite with skipper Alessandro Del Piero no certainty to return for next week’s trip to Perth.
The Sky Blues sorely missed the veteran Italian on Saturday night as they were totally outplayed and outfought by the Western Sydney Wanderers, going down 2-0 in front of more than 40,000 fans at Allianz Stadium.
Just like in the 4-0 drubbing to Brisbane seven days earlier, Sydney seemed rudderless without their talisman as the Wanderers comfortably claimed local bragging rights.
With the pressure building after back-to-back defeats Farina will be desperate to have Del Piero available for the away clash with the Glory but admitted it may not be the case.
“We’ll assess it during the week but (the long flight) is not an ideal one,” a disappointed Farina said.
“We’ll see how he goes during the week but if he’s able to train properly we’ll assess it then.
“With Ale, he’s coming up to 39.
“We have to be realistic; we know Alessandro’s not going to play 27 straight games for us this year. That’s reality and we have to adjust to that.”
After getting through a light training session on Friday in the lead-up to the Wanderers game, Del Piero was keen to at least sit on the bench for the derby but Farina pulled rank.
“It’s round three… it was way too much of a risk,” the Sky Blues boss said.
“He hadn’t trained with the squad all week. He was keen towards the end of the week to sit on the bench but that could have been even more dangerous.
“You’ve got to be careful; it’s still only round three.”
There would not have been much the marquee man could have done as first-half goals to Iacopo La Rocca and Shinji Ono ensured a memorable night for the Wanderers.
While Farina praised the effort of his side for not throwing in the towel after the break, he admitted they will continue to struggle unless they are more disciplined in defence.
“We’ve got to cut out our errors and mistakes. In Brisbane it cost us the first two goals and again tonight,” Farina lamented.
“We work on it but those errors we have to get rid of.
“It comes down to discipline in terms of what your job is. We’ve let ourselves down in that area.
“It puts added pressure on people and you start to do things that you wouldn’t normally do.”
Sydney’s night was compounded be what looks like a serious knee injury to midfielder Rhyan Grant, with scans over the weekend to determine the extent of the problem.
Farina is hopeful Socceroos midfielder Brett Emerton (back), defender Pedj Bojic (calf) and former skipper Terry McFlynn (groin) will all be available for the clash with the Glory.
