Ahead of his return against Newcastle on Sunday, Melbourne Heart import Gerald Sibon has admitted his regret at the stamp which led to his ban and feels he has let his fledgling side down by being suspended.
Sibon was outed by the Match Review Panel for two weeks for his stamp on the foot of Melbourne Victory’s Grant Brebner during the inaugural Melbourne derby on October 8, a match the Heart won 2-1.
The giant Dutchman has been forced to watch on as Heart grabbed draws away to Wellington and home to Gold Coast, while an inexperienced attacking line-up has toiled hard to create attacking chances.
“What can you say? It was something which I shouldn’t have done and I regret it. These things happen and it’s emotional sometimes. Thank God I didn’t injure him. The penalty is fair, but the way it went is a bit weird. But it’s all past now. I can’t do anything about it,” he told reporters.
“Any time is not the best time to get a suspension, but I could have helped the team in the past two games and I think we could have got more than two points.”
Sibon’s suspension also interrupted a strong run of form from the former Heerenveen, Nuremberg, PSV and Sheffield Wednesday striker, who had found himself very comfortable playing behind the front two.
He feels the entire team’s level has lifted over the past few weeks and that will make a huge difference.
“I usually play with my back to goal … It’s a bit easier as a No.10 because I only have to deal with one opponent,” he said.
“The whole team is getting better. We’re getting fitter as well and that’s all got to do with playing better. I don’t have to run as much and it camouflages the fitness. I know we’re fit. The way we play uses a lot of energy when you do it wrong. When we play it the right way it’s a nice way to play and enjoyable.”
“It’s about keeping the ball and exhausting the opponent. It’s going well and can conserve a bit of energy for the whole 90 minutes.”
The suspension aside, Sibon’s Hyundai A-League experience has been thoroughly enjoyable and he feels that with the warmer weather arriving, it will make a big difference to the mentality of the team.
“I like it and the weather is starting to get better, which is good. We had a bit of a hard start family-wise, but we’re getting there and football-wise it’s different from where I come from, but everyone really wants to play football and works hard and is dedicated. We work very hard to get a result and it’s good to see everybody is enjoying it,” he said.