R2 vs Sydney FC | Sun 15 Oct | 9:00pm | SS1

Sydney play SMFC on Wednesday night, so loads of red cards please?

I hope we win

We'll do our best Wednesday night to tire them out.  Lets hope we can pull off a cupset and create history

Yeh give them a hiding Souths

Team

1: Keegan Smith

2: Keegan Smith

3: Keegan Smith

4: Keegan Smith

5: Keegan Smith

6: Keegan Smith

7: Keegan Smith

8: Keegan Smith

9: Keegan Smith

10: Keegan Smith

11: Keegan Smith

We all dream of a team of Keegan Smith.

Hopefully, Weemac, Gui, and Dura and Doyle will help us maybe grind out a draw.

Please dont include all of us, because i dream of a team without him!

We will win 2-1. Over confident? Yes. Overly optimistic? Yes. Extremely unlikely? Yes. But we will

I don't think the champs will go down without a fight

Smith or Italiano?

Italiano for me please

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Team

1: Goran Paracki

2: Goran Paracki

3: Scott Galloway

4: Goran Paracki

5: Goran Paracki

6: Goran Paracki

7: Goran Paracki

8: Goran Paracki

9: Goran Paracki

10: Goran Paracki

21: Roy Krishna

Just Wee mac and Doyle should help.

I think Dura's experience and leadership should help communication in our defence. Also, think Gui would be an improvement on Rufer and will be better at the dead ball than Riddenton (Not to say Riddenton isn't good at the dead ball, just Gui is better) 

I'm going over to SYD to the game at the weekend but not sure which area of the SFS to buy seats for, where are other FYers getting tickets for the game?

There's a Sydney Phoenix Supporters' group on FaecesBook - maybe hit them up?

SFC 3 - WEL 0 sadly.

As much as I don't rate Italiano I hope he starts this game.  Smith showed some great potential but the lack of command of the box, and the slowness to react in some situations will be absolutely taken advantage of by a team as good as the Smurfs.

I think we are going to lose regardless of who is in goal tbh.

This being said, I think the coach needs to make up his mind quickly about what he wants to do goalkeeper-wise.

I am a fan of rotating players, but I think it's important for the GK spot to change as little as possible, barring injury, a shocking run of form by the starting keeper or outstanding performances by his understudy.

What makes you think he hasn't already made up his mind NZP?  We've had one game and one keeper plus the last pre-seaon games all used that keeper.

Yeah Smith looks to be the first choice keeper until there's a compelling reason that he wouldn't be. Dropping him now would be the worst thing Kalezic could do to the kid.

Happens all the time. I know a coach they send kids home because of their body fat, just to bring them back a month later.

I meant given the barrage of comments he has faced since Sunday...I hope he either sticks to his guns and keeps Smith in (my preferred choice) or if he decides the lad isn't ready yet, explain to him why and chuck someone else in with a view to make him the #1 for the foreseeable future.

I think our back line looked shaky enough without needing to add worries about who is going to keep for us week in week out.

Also when the alternative is Italiano I'd probably prefer to dig someone out of central league...

as long as he chooses on what is best is to get a result and not because he doesn't want someone to have hurt feelings

You're right. Either way someone has hurt feelings. I can't imagine how Italiano's feelings are at the moment.

It'll be Smith.  And we'll have to be a lot better for it not to be Sydney. 

But I am still trying to figure how good that draw was v Adelaide. Points a point.  But based on pace of the game and quality and chances Adelaide might have taken, I'd say not too good. 

But we'll get better. 

Better enough for a result v Sydney.  Big call, but life and hope and all that.  After all, the AWs are going to beat Peru, so why not us beat Sydney?

Bring it on.  I'd be ecstatic with a 1-1.  And Smith not getting broken by some pretty agressive Sydney play on him.  You can see that coming a mile away.  Hope he's got an enforcer backing him, or he has real pointy elbows and knees.  

It was a positive because we are pretty underdone, more so than normal even.

We were missing Doyle, Durante, and WeeMac to international duty, we were missing Finkler due to injury, Krishna was touch and go to start and was carrying a niggle, Kaluderovic and Vidisic are both still quite far off being match fit, etc.

Very difficult to get a result against this particular team on their home patch,keepers are a worry one very young and the other a bit daft ,Durante's pace at the back a big concern as well,having said that we have a very combative midfield and strikers who know where the net is so we can live in hope! 

I would happily settle for a 0-0 draw!

I'll be delighted with a draw

If we have a Coach who's making team selections based on comments on social media etc, then I'll be far more concerned about that than who's wearing the GK shirt.

Smith was shakier than a flatpack bookcase from the Warehouse last weekend but it was his debut and, although he was ropey, I didn't think he actually had a bad game, as such. He was just unconvincing and nervy. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't start this week. 

I think the fact that he started in the first game of the season is an indication of how the coach sees the matter.

However, he is entitled to change his line up as he sees fit and I agree he shouldn't do that based on what others think.

To me the only serious problem is Smiths long-distance kicking. In the modern game you can't get away with your CB taking goal kicks as it exposes you too much. Hopefully they sorted that out with extra training this week and Smith will start in goal again come Sunday.

I do recall him leaving Adelaide strikers strewn in his wake and complaining to the ref a couple of times. Being honest seeing how Smith goes is something I'm really looking forward to

1. Gargamel
2. Gargamel
3. Gargamel
4. Gargamel
5. Gargamel
6. Gargamel
7. Gargamel
8. Gargamel
9. Gargamel
10. Gargamel
11. Gargamel

Yep.  He's quite a story and seems quite a character.  I quite liked his first game and, no offence to Italiano, and feeling for that guy, I hope Smith does well.

in the modern game, why are we hoofing goal kicks into the opposite half? Who are we expecting to win us these balls, Krishna, finkler, mcglinchey,

Paracki was the only target on Sunday.

The Adelaide game is fish & chip wrapper now - I'm really looking forward to us playing Sydney  

COYN