Sydney FC’s penalty shootout hero Clint Bolton has admitted the difficulty of maintaining the focus which won his side the A-League grand final as the club ushered him to the exit door.
Bolton broke down in tears after playing his part in the shootout win over Melbourne Victory which secured the championship – admitting it was in large part because of a difficult few months.
The 34-year-old goalkeeper was told during the season he was not in the club’s long-term plans, and elected instead to sign a two-year deal with new franchise Melbourne Heart from next season.
A foundation player at Sydney, Bolton said he had attempted to get on with his job to the best of his ability.
He broke down post-match with a mix of joy at the win, and sadness that he would no longer be with the Sky Blues next season.
“I’ll admit, it hasn’t been easy to handle the way I’ve left the club, but I’ve just tried to get on with it, train hard and produce in games which I’m confident I’ve done,” Bolton said.
“It was just a build-up of emotion and I let it out at that point.
“Tears of joy as well as sadness at leaving the club. I’m happy I went out that way and I’m going to move on.”
Bolton is one of several players departing the club in the off-season – coach Vitezslav Lavicka needing to replace nearly half his first-choice team for the Sky Blues’ title defence.
The retirement of skipper Steve Corica, the loss of Bolton, Simon Colosimo and Karol Kisel and the likely departure of marquee striker John Aloisi leaves Sydney FC with some huge holes to fill.
Grand final skipper Terry McFlynn said Bolton had shown great professionalism in giving his best to the club’s cause despite his looming departure.
But he was confident Sydney would be able to rebuild and regroup for a new season which will also include a tilt at the Asian Champions League.
“Bootsa (Bolton) has been fantastic for us for five years, but in football, people come and people go,” McFlynn said.
Sydney returned home to a civic reception on Sunday afternoon to celebrate their A-League triumph.
But the battered Victory were left needing to regroup in record time ahead of a vital Asian Champions League clash with Kawasaki Frontale in Japan on Tuesday night.
Without a win in their opening two matches, Melbourne must beat their Japanese rivals to have any hope of advancing to the competition’s second stage.
The 18-man squad, without injured striker Archie Thompson, arrived in Japan late on Sunday to prepare for the match.
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