Will Booth 
Sydney FC coach Ufuk Talay. Photo: Joshua Davis/Round Ball Australia
Sydney FC once again hit the road for their match against Brisbane Roar on Friday night, and with injuries to key players it was Jaiden Kucharski who made the difference with a last-minute winner, something that is becoming a bit of a habit for the young attacker.
With two injuries ruling out the preferred starting wingers, many thought that this may be the game where Kucharski would earn his first start of the season.
Instead, Ufuk Talay stuck to his guns and pushed the in-form Jordan Courtney-Perkins further up the field, bringing in Joel King at left back, leaving Kucharski and Adrian Segecic to play their regular roles coming off the bench late into matches.
Kucharski would only be trusted with the last few minutes of the match, but that was all the time he needed to make an impact.
Coming on in the 89th minute, with one of his first touches of the match, he dispatched a lay-off from Segecic first time into the corner to give Sydney all three points.
These two players combining for the winner has certainly given Talay something to ponder.
A big question going forward is how content either of them will be only seeing single-digit minutes from the bench, when they have consistently shown the output they can deliver in the big occasions?
The first half saw no goals, and although both goalkeepers were called into action on numerous occasions, the finishing lacked quality, and the teams headed in for half-time at 0-0.
Patryk Klimala showed his class early in the second half, and Courtney-Perkins was heavily involved with a smart leave of the ball that left the Polish striker through on goal, where he opened up his body and finished expertly past Macklin Freke.
Thomas Waddingham would equalise shortly after, but Leo Sena replied quickly to restore Sydney’s lead. He linked up with Anas Ouahim in an intricate move before poking the ball past Freke.
Talay was full of praise for his midfield general, but was equally surprised at the goal, which was Sena’s first since 2016 for a club side.
“I wouldn’t expect that from Leo, but I thought he controlled the game for us in midfield and I’m glad he got on the score sheet for us as well.” Talay said.
Brisbane were able to get themselves back into the game in the 78th minute through Rafael Struick, and there was a feeling that the game would close out at 2-2 when the clock hit 90 minutes.
That was when Kucharski had the chance to stamp his mark.
Talay heaped praise on the youngster, but fans are left wondering how many goals are needed off the bench in order to get the nod for a start.
“It was a great goal, JK’s definitely got a good strike on him, right or left foot,” Talay said.
“As a team we dominated in all metrics of the game,”
[It’s] just not the way we would’ve liked to have conceded the two goals,”
For Roar’s two goals, Sydney were sliced open by just a few simple passes, often undone quickly after losing possession with players being caught out of position.
Talay notes these defensive issues as a priority to work on, looking for more balanced performances as the attacking unit seems to be having the desired impact already.
“I’ve got no problem if the opponent absolutely plays through us and scores a goal, but that didn’t happen tonight,” Talay noted.
“I think we gave them the two goals,”
“One thing we definitely need to get better at is conceding these types of goals.”
The squad depth is already being tested after both Joe Lolley and Douglas Costa picked up injuries in their previous two fixtures, and with short recovery periods due to travel, neither were available for the Brisbane match.
Talay was confident that the two injuries to his key wide men would be short-term, with more doubts around the return of Corey Hollman who was another casualty in the Auckland FC match.
“They’ll miss this game, that’s definite but moving forward I think we’re in a good place,” Talay said.
“The great thing is they’re not going to be out for a long period of time. I think it’s great for the group, it’s also great for them.
“Corey rolled his ankle, so I think he’s four to six weeks at the moment with Corey which is disappointing for him.”
The next hurdle they face is Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Thursday, this time at home, before taking on Macarthur at home on Sunday.