First blood to Victory but Sydney FC promise to be a threat once more

Imports glistened but homegrown talent also shines in epic Round 1 showdown at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, writes Tom Smithies.

As the rain sheeted down on the gleaming hulk of the new Allianz Stadium, the spotlight sought out the imports who promise to bring glamour and excitement to the Isuzu UTE A-League this season.

Yet deep in an epic contest that pointed to a season of headstrong football, three young Australians sought to shape the game their way, fighting to prove that they could prevail upon the occasion and be as instrumental as the visa players alongside them.

By the end it was Jake Brimmer and Chris Ikonomidis who had offered compelling arguments for how central they will be to Melbourne Victory’s season, celebrating a 3-2 ‘Big Blue’ triumph with the travelling fans and caring little about the incessant rain that drenched the turf throughout.

Substituted as Sydney chased the game on Saturday night, meanwhile, Patrick Yazbek cut a mournful figure at the final whistle as his side grappled with a second loss in consecutive games at home to Victory. Yet Yazbek had shown more than enough by then to confirm he will be key to Sydney’s planned revival, and there was enough proof to suggest he will come of age this season and could be the fulcrum that allows others to shine.

Nothing, of course, is won or lost in Round 1, but the A-League Men needed an occasion to savour for its opening weekend. The miserable rain had already claimed the F3 derby earlier in the day, but the pitch at Allianz Stadium – as should befit a stadium costing $1billion – soaked up the deluge, and almost 22,000 fans braved the awful forecast.

Their reward was a contest where the commitment to attack was unwavering, and every pass sought a forward advantage. At 3-2 up, with moments left, Victory’s experienced centrehalf Roderick Miranda attempted an extravagant switch pass from one side of the pitch to another in search of one final attack, instead of sitting on the lead. It was that kind of night.

Patrick Yazbek of Sydney FC warms up before facing Melbourne Victory on Saturday.

But it would be a mistake to cast this as another seamless win for the visitors from Victoria. In their last competitive league outing, Sydney had lost resoundingly to a Victory side storming into the finals and limped away to regroup for the next campaign.

Much has changed – most obviously in the Sky Blues’ return to Allianz Stadium, more than five months after their temporary residence at Jubilee Stadium during the Allianz rebuild had ended with such a whimper to Victory last season.  Of their acquisitions since, Robert Mak made an immediate impact with the first goal of the new season – Mak the knife cutting through the visitors’ rearguard.

In one sense it was a false dawn – Sydney then went behind, pulled level late on yet some how lost the game once more. For Sydney head coach Steve Corica there was the pain of a defeat in this first game back at Allianz, and yet – in the cold light of the morning after, armed with a video breakdown of the game – there were flashes and moments to illuminate his new system.

Fundamentally he has brought in good players, whose quality will shine this year. Joe Lolley’s dynamic dribbling took the eye, especially as his body language spoke of a confidence to own the pitch. This stage suited him best of all, the saturated turf making defenders nervous and inviting those with a blessed first touch to surge forward.

But as the season unfolds it is Yazbek who you sense will make the new formation work, especially once he uses the rythmn of games to find the most influential space to take up. So determined were Sydney to set the early pace that their forward line had four or five figures strung across the pitch on the shoulder of the Victory defence.

One of these was Yazbek, but as he began to forage in deeper pockets of space, so Sydney began to find a more coherent path forward, especially when the ball got moved at pace. His energy levels allow Yazbek to buzz from box to box but his constant scanning of the space around him indicates a player with the vision to hurt opponents high up the pitch.

Johnny Warren Medal winner Jake Brimmer of Victory is tackled by Sydney FC players.

In the currency of football, though, he and Sydney were left with no goals and no points – and his substitution was arguably a pivotal moment. In his place Max Burgess was assigned the mantle of prompter in chief, but found only blind alleys, while Luke Brattan – playing a full game in his first outing since rupturing an ACL almost a year ago – limped on until the end and could offer nothing by then.

Compare that with the changes effected by Tony Popovic, particularly the replacement of Ben Folami with Ikonomidis. Where the former has pace and dribbling to be a primary threat, Ikonomidis’s ability to steal into space and anticipate where a move will unfold offers a broader threat. By the end he had turned in an equaliser, spotting a window in the box and sprinting to get on the end of a delicious low cross from Nani, and then created the winner for Josh Brillante with a run and low cross of his own – both goals the result of his understanding of team dynamics.

The needs of the team collective also governed the contribution of Brimmer, last year’s Johnny Warren Medal winner. His quality is undisputed and proven, that award showing that the judges could look beyond the hype and value his quiet vision and use of space. But here he worked in the cause of the team, pressing and harrying as much as looking to play forward.

As the crowds streamed out at the end the rain had more or less stopped, as if the elements had given up trying to dominate the night and retreated. Both sides might have felt some sympathy with that, but you sense that both will also  throw storms of attacking football at their opponents in the weeks to come.