Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka insists he won’t alter his defensive structure in an attempt to nullify Melbourne striker Carlos Hernandez in Sunday’s battle for the premiership at the SFS.
The Sky Blues require maximum points to secure a maiden Hyundai A-league Premiers Plate, while a draw will see the Victory seal top spot for the second straight season.
Hernandez produced arguably the best individual performance of the campaign against North Queensland last week, scoring twice to lead his side to a vital 2-0 win in the absence of star striker Archie Thompson (foot) and skipper Kevin Muscat (suspension).
But while wary of the Costa Rican’s ability to create something out of nothing, Lavicka knows he is not the only threat in Victory squad.
“Carlos is a key player of Melbourne and maybe one of the best players of the A-League generally,” Lavicka said.
“We know that he’s able to bring something special for them. We’ll try to stop him but as you know we don’t play man-to-man marking, we play zone defence so we have to be close together and try to stop him.”
“But Melbourne is not only one player so we have to be aware of the whole team.”
The Czech national, who is no stranger to the big stage having played for and coached European giants Sparta Prague, admits he is not sure what to expect from Ernie Merrick’s men this weekend.
“They can play maybe a different system but we are focusing on our performance,” he said.
“We will talk about the possibilities of how they can play but the most important thing will be our performance.”
Asked how he is feeling ahead of his most important game as an A-League coach, the mild mannered 46-year-old enthused: “My feeling is a big massive game is coming. It’s new for me especially first time in Australia we play against Melbourne in a home game.”
“The regular season is going to the finish, so the last game is massive and exciting for everyone.”
“They still have good players and a very good team and a smart coach, but we have true intentions and a big desire to win on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, Lavicka dismissed concerns over the state of the SFS pitch following last week’s Edinburgh Military Tattoo which left sections of the ground looking worse for wear.
“Doesn’t matter pitch, the pitch is pretty good,” he said.
“Maybe the colour (in some spots) is a little bit brown, but I think it’s flat which is important for good football.”
“It doesn’t matter – we are focusing for our performance.”
