Sydney FC’s star striker Marc Janko hasn’t scored a goal in five games but says he hopes to make a defining contribution in the epic grand final showdown against Melbourne Victory.
Sydney showed just how dangerous their front third can be while trouncing Adelaide 4-1 in their semi-final clash to book a spot in next Sunday’s decider.
Skipper Alex Brosque and young guns Bernie Ibini and Christopher Naumoff did all the damage as Janko again failed to fire.
The towering Austrian frontman has earned the Golden Boot award for his 16 strikes in the regular season.
He hit a purple patch earlier this year to become the first A-League player to score in seven straight games, netting a remarkable 12 goals in that time.
He also broke the club record for most goals in a season, eclipsing the 14 set by Italian legend and World Cup-winner Alessandro Del Piero.
But since March the goals have dried up for the marquee man.
He missed Sydney’s 3-0 win over Wellington in round 23 with international duty but has started all five games since.
And while the goals have been pouring in for the Sky Blues, who have netted 13 times in their past five outings, Janko hasn’t been able to find the back of the net.
He says the fact Sydney have many avenues to goal should make Victory worried and admitted he was hoping his drought would end next week.
“I hope so,” he said.
“But at the moment it’s all about the balance of our team and so I’m so happy that the guys around me now have also started to score a lot of goals like Brosque and Bernie.
“That shows that they don’t have to worry only about me they have to worry about our whole attack.
“So that’s a good thing for us.”
Not much splits the two top sides with all three encounters between Sydney and Victory this season ending in draws.
For Janko, who has plied his trade in Europe where the league leader is crowned champion, this is his first finals series.
He says he’s looking forward to experiencing all the hype that comes with a grand final and feels it will come down to “small details”.
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