Graham Arnold challenged Sydney FC to finish the season a great team, not just a good one, after winning the Premiers Plate last week. With nothing more than honour to play for, they inched closer towards surpassing even that status after cruising to a comfortable 3-0 win over Melbourne City at Allianz Stadium.
On a weekend that marks the 40th anniversary since Australian football went national, the 2016-17 Sydney FC team moved within striking distance of becoming the greatest side in the history of top-tier football in this country.
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They have set a goal of eclipsing Brisbane Roar's record tally of 65 points in the A-League, but the Sky Blues now have a realistic hope of not only doing that, but also overtaking the best teams of the 27 years of the National Soccer League that preceded the A-League.
In terms of points per game, they can beat the great South Melbourne team of 2001, and the brilliant regular season of Perth Glory the year before. As of Saturday night, the Sky Blues were 17 points clear of second-placed Melbourne Victory (who have a game in hand), had amassed 62 points from a possible 75 and were on course to set several records for defence and wins.
"I think the pyschological problem is for the opposition, not us. We'll just keep winning, that's what we're here for. We work hard every day and the morale within the group, the trust within the group the belief within the group is enormous," Arnold said.
For all that, there was nothing pretty about the start to Sydney FC's commanding win over Melbourne City. Both teams saw red in their previous meetings in the A-League this season and there were no signs of a peace offering before the game.
Bruno Fornaroli was the first to fall victim of a punishing challenge. He was given a free kick on the edge of the area in the seventh minute, and his strike rattled the upright. As it turned out, it was City's best chance of the game.
By contrast, Sydney were given far less charitable offerings at the other end of the field and had to carve open opportunities with more laborious build-ups.
A workman-like performance struggled to cut through City's defence – save for some twinkle-toed magic from Serbian midfielder Milos Ninkovic after the half-hour mark. Sydney's midfielder slipped past two markers to fire a stinging, swerving right-foot shot from the edge of the area that dipped narrowly over the crossbar.
For the most part, however, Sydney never looked the team that had blown away the league to become premiers by round 24. Yet it was their organisation and tactical discipline that gave them the platform to issue another statement after the break.
There was a hint of more fluency as Ninkovic and Alex Brosque began to combine in the second half. They broke through the middle to unravel City's backline and the captain's shot was deflected off goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis but only so far as the oncoming Rhyan Grant, whose shot into an open net was desperately saved by Ivan Franjic on the line.
For all Sydney FC's intricacy and rotations, it was the most rudimentary of attacks that proved more successful for the Sky Blues. Loose defending from Franjic and Manny Muscat – they both failed to adequately deal with a throw-in into the box – allowed Brosque to pounce on a loose ball and his first-time finish rattled the back of the net to draw first blood.
Whether it was insipid defending from City or spurred belief from Sydney, the Sky Blues then shifted into another gear. All-time points records, the leanest defence and the most wins were up for grabs and their attacking potency in the second-half suggested all three were realistic chances of being set.
One-touch passing in the 63rd minute left Melbourne's defence threadbare and Michael Zullo's driven cross from the left found Bobo at the back post, the Brazilian flying in out-stretched to thump in a second goal and land a blow to City's hopes of an unlikely scalp in Sydney.
Bobo sealed the win on the stroke of full-time, turning in David Carney's cross at the back post to seal a memorable win, one worthy of a team in pursuit of more than just silverware.