Expert
Alessandro Del Piero will make his home debut for Sydney FC when they host the Newcastle Jets in front of an expected crowd of 40,000 at the Sydney Football Stadium this afternoon. We’ll have live scores and updates from 5.30pm AEDT.
Due to their high-profile off season marquee signings, Sydney FC and the Jets have both enjoyed the media spotlight in the lead-in to the season and as a result, expectations were high coming into last weekend.
Both teams managed to flop miserably. Sydney were never in it in their 2-0 loss at Wellington and the same can be said for the Jets after they conceded within the first minute against Adelaide, eventually going down 2-0 also.
Suffice to say, both teams have undergone somewhat harsher media scrutiny this weekend and for the losing coach, things could become uncomfortable if his team again fails to fire.
One major positive for the Sky Blues was the touch of the former Juventus starlet Del Piero.
In icy Wellington conditions and in spite of his teammates’ awful efforts to keep possession, Del Piero was able to show his class, which augurs well for this afternoon in what is expected to be perfect conditions for football.
With allocated tickets all but sold out as of Friday afternoon the crowd could very well nudge the 40,000 mark here. It’s been a long, long time since Sydney – or the A-League in general – has had such phenomenal interest in a regular-season match.
From Tony Pignata to David Traktovenko to Ian Crook to the boot strapper, everybody involved at Sydney FC will be praying for a successful afternoon that will see the majority return for the rest of the season.
They may very well get the chance if the Jets turn up like they did last Sunday. Against a side feeling the effects of a 33-hour sojourn back from Uzbekistan, the Jets were pensive, insipid and lethargic and gave barely a yelp in front of their own fans.
Gary van Egmond’s comments seemed to indicate he was satisfied with his team’s performance but if they continue to get results like last weekend he won’t enjoy them for too much longer.
Based upon last weekend it is difficult to get a read either way for this match. Neither side indicated that they were capable of winning a football match and now we have the intangible of the crowd.
Will Sydney FC rise to the occasion or will they get stage fright in front of a full house? It’s one of a host of questions going into this afternoons match and all in all it promises to be a belter. We’ll have live scores and commentary from 5.30pm AEDT.