Strike Force: Learning the hard lesson

With the standard of competition now at the level it is, any lapse in concentration can potentially cost you valuable points.

It's a lesson we nearly learnt the hard way against Melbourne City.

We are fantastic for 75 minutes and dominated them on our home patch.

Realistically, the damage could have been much worse than the 3-0 buff we’d built on them midway through the second half as we fired on all cylinders.

Then, we turned off.

Things quickly snowballed from there as the likes of Harry Novillo and Bruno Fornaroli got themselves into the game.

They don’t need much of an invitation to get into the game and we gave them one to give City some hope of stealing some of the points.

Fortunately, we steadied the ship, but the scare won’t be forgotten. 

It would have been a pretty hollow to have left the ground without the points, so I was glad that wasn’t the case.

We’ll take that lesson into a massive game this week against Melbourne Victory, who will be hungry to rebound from a disappointing defeat in Perth.

We will have to contend with another lethal combination up front, led by the always dangerous Besart Berisha.

Keeping him quiet should help to see us claim another three points.

To be a bit cliche, every match from here is a bit of a final for us if we want to win the Premiers Plate.

The games come upon you quickly at this time of year so you have to make sure you keep ticking along.

INS AND OUTS

I reckon the transfer speculation might have rocked Sydney FC a little bit.

They looked like an unsettled team last weekend at home against Brisbane Roar and it showed on the score sheet.

Gersbach’s departure and Carney’s arrival shows there may well have been more going through players minds than just the game.

Like I said last week, the transfer window can have that impact on teams – negatively or positively.

For Sydney, it seems as if it hasn’t allowed for the smoothest of sailing.

At the Central Coast on the other hand, it has worked in the opposite way.

The departures of both Anthony Caceres and Nick Fitzgerald and the arrival of Luis Garcia looks to have had the desired effect.

Obviously the former Liverpool FC star is a world class talent.

With a stellar goal and a couple more assists against Wellington Phoenix, he is already proving that he is well up to the billing.

His impact is the sort teams look for when they delve into the transfer market.

Hopefully it also translates to some big crowds wherever he plays, whether that is home or away for the remainder of the A-League season.