Playing in the 2010 World Cup may be nothing more than a pipe dream for John Aloisi, but the former Socceroos striker is determined to keep his place in the Sydney FC side after playing a starring role in Saturday’s 4-1 win over North Queensland.

Aloisi, who opened the scoring at the Sydney Football Stadium with his fifth goal of the season as Vitezslav Lavicka’s side dominated the Fury in a one-sided contest, showed glimpses of the class that prompted the Sky Blues to fork out over a million dollars a season to sign him.

Despite being the club’s highest earner, injury and the form of Mark Bridge and Alex Brosque have kept the 34-year-old out of the starting line-up since September, but Aloisi believes he can still make a valuable contribution to the side.

“I have always said I am happy to fight for my place in the side and am glad I was able to play my part in a good win,” Aloisi said.

“We have been working hard to make sure we get it right. We needed to get back to basics and work hard for each other and I thought we did that.

“It’s always good to score, especially if you are a striker, and I thought we were outstanding, particularly in the first half, and can hopefully build on this now.”

The victory ended a run of three successive defeats for Sydney that had threatened to derail their quest for a first A-League title since 2005 and Aloisi said it was vital the team stopped the rot.

And with very winnable games against Wellington and Adelaide sandwiched between clashes with leaders Melbourne and in-form Central Coast, December is shaping up as vital month for Sydney.

“I think it was good to have a sticky period now and not towards the end of the season where momentum is so important,” Aloisi said.

“Every team seems to be dropping points, as Melbourne and the Gold Coast have shown, but we now have a good month ahead of us and hopefully we can maintain this form.”

Aloisi laughed off suggestions about making a late claim for a place in Pim Verbeek’s Socceroos squad for the World Cup.

“I think it might be just best if I worry about trying to get in the Sydney team before anything else!”

© AAP 2012

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