A little bit extra fuel to spark the team coming into the business end of the season is desirable for most clubs and new boy Chris Ikonomidis could be the man to provide it for us in Western Sydney.
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He’s only been at the club for two matches, but we have already seen what he can do when he has his game firing on all cylinders.
Last weekend, he was simply outstanding in our convincing 4-0 win over the Wellington Phoenix.
He got on the score-sheet for the first time in Wanderers colours and played a pivotal role in another goal as well.
His work rate throughout the match was also top shelf, which was great to see.
For us, the standout performance came as no real surprise.
We knew we were getting a high quality player when he linked up with the club on loan from Lazio near the end of the transfer window.
He’s already starting to show just how good he can be so hopefully it’s just a sign of things to come.
Chris’s performance helped put an exclamation mark on what was a fantastic overall team display against the Nix.
From start to finish we were in control of the game.
Oriol Riera’s early goal had us in the driver’s seat inside the opening 10 minutes and we were able to kill off the game in the second half.
That’s something we have been working at training on over the past month of the season.
This season we have struggled to put teams to bed when we are in front, but we had no such issues at home against Wellington.
It was an important step in the right direction and ensured that we’d keep a hold of sixth spot for another week.
We’ll get the chance to move even further up the ladder this week against the high-flying Newcastle Jets.
I’ve mentioned before how dangerous this Jets team can be. They’ve been superb this season and deservedly sit second on the ladder. We’re expecting a big challenge on home soil.
They’ll be coming in with fresh legs after having last weekend off and have also welcomed striker Roy O’Donovan back into the fold in recent weeks.
The Irishman made his return from a groin injury sooner than expected and will be a massive addition for the Jets.
His record in the A-League speaks for itself.
Limiting his chances will be crucial if we want to come away with the three points again and take home our third consecutive victory for the first time this season.
If we can achieve it, we will jump the Melbourne Victory on the competition ladder and put ourselves in a great position to make a run at the post-season.
- WANDERERS RUN HOME
Newcastle Jets (Home, Feb 16)
Sydney FC (Away, Feb 25)
Perth Glory (Home, March 4)
Wellington Phoenix (Home, March 10)
Melbourne City (Away, March 24)
Melbourne Victory (Away, March 31)
Brisbane Roar (Home, April 7)
Adelaide United (Home, April 15)