A despondent Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka said his side missed striker Alex Brosque after losing 1-0 to Gold Coast United at the Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday.
Brosque has been one of Sydney’s most dangerous forwards this season but missed out against Gold Coast due to an injury picked up on duty with the Qantas Socceroos earlier this month.
Sydney lacked a genuine cutting edge against a mobile Gold Coast outfit and Lavicka was left to rue the loss of his star forward in the top-of-the-table clash.
“Alex is top-level quality, an attacking player. Of course (we missed him) but that’s football. He’s still not 100 percent ready to play. We all hope that he will be ready to play next week,” Lavicka said after the game.
Striker John Aloisi came in for a rare start and he created a number of chances but could not find a way past the Gold Coast defence.
Sydney captain Steve Corica added that the loss hurt and he felt the Sky Blues lacked the urgency required against such a spirited opponent like Gold Coast.
“We were sluggish today and they kept picking up second balls. We kept giving the ball away which makes it difficult. And when they got more of the ball they can hurt us more,” Corica said after the game.
“From the start we wanted to pressurise them but it didn’t work out that way. And that’s where the goal (came from). We were too slow.”
The win put Gold Coast back on top of the Hyundai A-League and gave United a clean sweep of wins against the Sky Blues after Bleiberg’s men scored two wins against them earlier in the season.
“The most important thing was we’re at home in front of a good crowd. Now we’ve got to scrap to get back to the top of the league,” said Corica.
Lavicka revealed that he wanted his team to start the game fast and apply pressure on their opponent. However, it was Gold Coast that pressured the home side and bossed most of the first hour of the game before fatigue started to take its toll.
But even when Gold Coast tired – this being its third game in a week – Lavicka rued Sydney’s inability to create clear chances.
“Our opponent played better than us, had better movement. And it was difficult for us to create the chances. They (Gold Coast) played compact and aggressive,” he said. “Simply I have to say, the better team got the three points.”
