Coach upbeat after close game
Frank Farina, was pleased with his sides performance, as they narrowly lost to Serie B side Padova,
The Italian side who start their season this weekend, are a full two months ahead of the Sky Blues, who won’t kick a ball competitively until October
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, the coach commented on his sides progress
“I thought we played some good stuff [against Padova] in patches. I’m not happy with the result but results don’t matter now. The performance, in the way we’re trying to play, was quite pleasing.
“We’re by no means the finished product at the moment but we’re taking steps forward every time we play.
I was quite pleased with the overall team. ‘I thought we started pretty slowly, for whatever reason,but I was pleased with the way we came back and our overall performance. I’m happy with it.
‘Let’s not forget that they start the season – at least the Coppa Italia – this Sunday, so they’re ready to go for the season proper.
”We’ve got a long way to go until October 11. I thought we matched them physically, with running and off-the-ball, so I’m pleased with that and we’ll just get better.”
The Sky blues have no break, going straight into a match against a reserve side from high-flyers Udinese tonight, followed by three games in four days which will test the squad’s fitness to the max.
Italian Pre-season Tour Schedule
Aug 8 Sydney FC v Udinese
Aug 13 Sydney FC v Vicenza Calcio
Aug 14 Sydney FC v A.S. Cittadella
Aug 17 Sydney FC v Venezia
Aug 21 Sydney FC v Reggiana