Sydney FC has been so steady over the past two seasons, the shock of the 3-1 drubbing inflicted by Wellington on Saturday seemed almost to distort the fabric of reality.
Wellington scored more goals against the premiers that afternoon than they did in their previous five matches. Sydney conceded three goals for the first time in 64 league games. So disorientating was this result, at the end referee Jonathan Barreiro appeared to lose his temporal grip entirely, whistling for full-time with two added minutes left to play.
The wins over Western Sydney and Melbourne City show Sydney is still capable of reaching that purring top gear this season. But these other, stalling performances are not cosmic aberrations, as much as they feel like it. They too have a subtle mechanical explanation.
Steve Corica has tried to maintain continuity, and started the same XI for the sixth straight match against Wellington. Injuries to Trent Buhagiar and Siem de Jong have meant he has not been able to field his preferred starting XI, but his marriage to the makeshift alternative has been observed with as much fidelity.
Defensively, Sydney has regressed. Corica has tried to smooth over the departure of Jordy Buijs, bringing in what, on the surface, seemed as similar a replacement as possible, Jop van der Linden. Another Dutchman, another meaty, passing centre half, another set piece taker. In theory, he seemed perfect.
In practice, though, van der Linden has been exposed as a stodgy, ersatz version of Buijs, whose defensive positioning, and ability to recover, is not up to standard. Buijs could be a little flighty, and would roam around, but his athleticism and eagerness meant he was able to quickly fill in any defensive holes he may have caused. He was a better passer than van der Linden is, and was a much better set piece specialist.
Additionally, when it comes to resting defence, routine and familiarity are the most crucial factors; positioning relies on defenders knowing where to be almost by intuition alone.
Sydney attempted to venture into this season acting as though Buijs’s exit wasn’t a concern, going on with business as usual, but this may have actually have hindered the bedding-in process for van der Linden. Certainly the gaps present between the defenders for Wellington’s first two goals on Saturday were evidence of a disengaged defence.
For the first goal, Sarpreet Singh curled a wonderful ball behind the Sydney backline and into the stride of Roy Krishna. It was one of those passes a player must hit in the midst of those transcendent moments, when reality’s hidden mechanisms are revealed, and a small glimmer of the immediate future appears before them; all they have to do is realise it. Krishna, as he began his run, could not have pictured a more ideal pass than the one Singh delivered, and the yawning gap between van der Linden and left back Michael Zullo gave Krishna a breezy avenue. Krishna finished without fuss.
For the second goal, Mandi lined up a pass to Krishna, who was again placed between Zullo and van der Linden. Mandi’s pass curled away from the Fijian, the opposite of Singh’s earlier assist, but was as perfectly placed. Krishna shrugged off Zullo, who had been forced to slide over from the far side. Krishna scored easily, and again Sydney was cleaved open.
When a team rolls through 60-odd games, losing very few of them, playing essentially with the same formation, and with unprecedented levels of squad continuity, a system forms. Many of the vital mechanics of this system are invisible, forming simply through repetition. As players mesh, symbiotic relationships unknowingly form, invisible reliance grows, and instincts are reshaped. When parts are taken out of this system, and slightly ill-fitting replacement parts put in, the whole thing can stall.
Pressure exacerbates things, and when Steven Taylor roared like a barbarian in the second half after successfully shielding the ball and winning a throw, it was obvious Wellington manager Mark Rudan had roused his team to really test Sydney’s mettle.
Wellington’s 3-4-3 also allowed them to fill whatever portion of the pitch they fancied with passing options, with the wing backs tucking into combine with midfield, causing Sydney midfielders Josh Brillante and Brandon O’Neill to be almost constantly occupied, reducing the cover they could offer their defence.
Sydney is still scoring efficiently and often, and had Adam Le Fondre been a little sharper against the Nix, perhaps the result might have been different. A football team’s attack, to a degree, can be less structured and remain potent; attacking is, after all, often about improvisation. But it’s clear – especially when it comes to the defence - the more finely tuned the machine, the more sensitive it is to even the slightest change.
