COMMENT
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Two thrillers in four days and the Wanderers walk away empty-handed.
It's been another tough week for the boys and it's a bit of a helpless feeling on my part, recovering from reconstructive shoulder surgery on Tuesday.
Still, despite the loss to Chinese giants Guangzhou Evergrande, Western Sydney are in a great position to make it through to the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League and defend our title.
At the moment, it's the big motivator for me, because even just a couple of days after having surgery, I'm confident about playing in an ACL semi-final and final, as long as we make it there again.
It's a frustrating time, not just for me, but for the whole club, however the surgery went very well and now it's a six-to-eight weeks waiting game to let the shoulder heal.
Then it's back into some light rehabilitation and small steps forward until I can run and train again.
It would be a dream to be part of another ACL finals campaign, but there's a long way ahead for both the team and myself.
Hopefully, Guangzhou goalkeeper Zeng Cheng can make a quick recovery from the suspected cheekbone injury after colliding with a teammate on Wednesday night.
It was quite a sickening incident, seeing him there in a neck brace.
It also forced the bizarre situation of having 17 minutes added to the game after he was stretchered off and the Wanderers trying to pinch a point, before losing 3-2.
Just like in the 4-3 Sydney derby result on Saturday's A-League game, it wasn't to be. Everything Mark Janko touched turned to gold in the first half for Sydney and the Wanderers were magnificent in fighting back to equalise at 3-3.
The crowd at Wanderland is always amazing, but it was a sensational atmosphere, though I do wish a section of the support would leave the flares behind.
It's just not needed in the modern game.
There was plenty of belief we would push on and snatch victory with still more than half an hour left, but credit to Terry Antonis slotting past Ante Covic to seal the win.
It might seem like a bit of a lost season, but the mood is anything but downhearted amongst the squad.
There's still a lot to play for.
Domestically we're intent on making sure the Wanderers don't finish with the wooden spoon and our recent performances suggest we can avoid that dishonour.
It was a big effort to back up from a trip to Japan to play the derby and after finding ourselves three goals down, it shows just how much fight is left in the boys.
There's also crucial trips to Korea to play FC Seoul on Wednesday week and the return trip to China to take on Guangzhou Evergrande in May, as well as home ties against Seoul and Kashima Antlers.
It's a difficult group, but the win in Japan has ensured we have a platform to make it through. The semi legs of the Asian Champions League are on in September and October and the final in November.
Defending the title will be the last thing on the Wanderers' players minds at the moment but, personally, it's a goal and hopefully they can keep it alive for me by the time I'm fit again.
The surgery went well and the pain isn't as bad as the last time I had an operation on my shoulder, so I'm grateful for that.
It might be a sling around my neck at the moment, but hopefully I'll still have the chance to wear another medal later in 2015.