Sydney FC frontman Alex Brosque has backed youngster Kofi Danning to step up and fill the club’s attacking void with the Hyundai A-League champions facing a striking dilemma ahead of Saturday’s clash with North Queensland.
A hamstring injury to Mark Bridge, picked up in the dying minutes of last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Melbourne, has left Sky Blues boss Vitezslav Lavicka with just one recognised striker at his disposal for the trip to Townsville.
With Sydney still on the lookout for a new striker following the off-season departures of John Aloisi and Chris Payne, the door has opened for the exciting Danning to gain his first Hyundai A-League start since Round 4 last season.
The 19-year-old winger had a sensational start to last season until Young Socceroos duty and a serious knee injury limited him to just seven appearances for the campaign.
But Danning has returned to full fitness after a tough pre-season and while Lavicka has yet to settle on his starting line-up, the Sydney vice-captain has backed the Ghanaian-born flyer to do the job.
“It would be good for Kofi, especially with the injuries and things that he’s had,” Brosque said on Wednesday.
“He’s waited a long time to really have a crack and he’s more than ready to go.”
“He’s been fit for a while now and he’s looking sharp at training which is good for us.”
“It’s disappointing to lose Bridgey so early … but we’ve got good young players coming through.”
It’s understood Sydney will be trialling at least one prospective striker over the next couple of weeks with Lavicka hopeful of adding a new player to the squad by the end of the month.
“We’re working hard to fill this spot,” he said.
“We need to get one good quality striker but it’s hard to say more at this moment.”
“We would like to get a good quality striker for a long-term contract and I believe we will solve it soon.”
Another aspect the Sydney coach will be hoping to solve is the defence after a shaky start to the season against the Victory last Saturday night.
The quick Melbourne attack caused constant headaches for the Sydney back four but Lavicka hinted he would give them another chance against the Fury on Saturday night.
“We made poor decisions but the question is not about the defenders, defence is about the whole team,” Lavicka said.
“We need to improve but I trust the players.”
“I trust the team, they are able to play better in defence and more consistently than we did last game.”
