Brosque form gives Phoenix food for thought

Sydney FC striker Mark Janko might be the competition's leading goalscorer but Wellington Phoenix has identified Alex Brosque as the most immediate threat in Sunday's massive battle for second place at Westpac Stadium.

Sydney FC's Alex Brosque celebrates one of his goals against Newcastle Jets in Round 26 (Getty) Source: AAP

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Janko, after scoring in an A-League record seven straight games to take his season tally to 16, hasn't scored since Round 21, but Sky Blues captain Brosque has picked up the slack in recent weeks with some tremendous performances.

He has scored doubles in each of Sydney's past two games, which resulted in away wins over Perth Glory (3-0) and Newcastle Jets (4-3).

Sydney coach Graham Arnold was overflowing with praise for Brosque after the win over the Jets last Friday.

Arnold said Brosque was finishing the season strongly after the club's strength and conditioning coach, Andrew Clark, worked hard to get him back into gear after his return from playing in the Middle East, where, Arnold said, "they don't train very hard".

What makes Sydney and Wellington dangerous is that both teams have multiple genuine attacking threats.

If Nathan Burns - the competition's second-highest scorer this season with 13 - hasn't been scoring for Wellington, then Roy Krishna or Kenny Cunningham have come into their own.

It's the same for Brosque with Janko not scoring at the moment. Bernie Ibini chips in, too.

Veteran Wellington central defender Ben Sigmund is obviously well aware Janko could start finding the back of the net again at any stage, if allowed, but it is Brosque's current form that has turned his head for the moment.

"You're right about Brosque. He probably took a little while to adjust after coming back to the A-League and in the second half of the season he has really picked up," Sigmund said.

"He's got great pace, he's great on the ball and he breaks quickly. 'Arnie' has got the best out of him, which is great to see for Brosque because he's a very good player.

"We're going to have to watch him closely."

Sigmund said he and the rest of the Phoenix back four - skipper Andrew Durante, left-back Louis Fenton and right-back Michael Boxall - know they must get it right against Sydney if Phoenix is to snare second spot.

But, Sigmund added, it was largely about preventing Sydney from getting into a position to run rampant down the field in the first place.

"Sydney get back into their shape really well," Sigmund said. "Arnie mastered the way they want to play and the players are responding.

"We have to stick to our game plan, which is high pressing, working hard when you lose the ball and making sure we don't let them break too quickly, because their game plan is to drop deep and, when they win the ball, break fast and get us on the counter.

"The big reason why we've been so good with our backline is that we make sure we communicate well - passing players on.

"You can get sucked in to trying to chase all the players around the place, but you've got to make sure you go with your runner, stick with your runner, and then pass him on when you need to.

"It now comes down to us shaping up as we did in the second half against Central Coast, right through all the games we've got left."

Phoenix came from 2-0 down at half-time to beat Mariners 3-2 last Friday. Cunningham produced the equaliser and then the winning goal in the fifth minute of added time.

Sydney, in second place, only needs a draw against Wellington to stay there. Phoenix must win to get second. Sydney cannot finish worse than third while Wellington could finish as low as fourth.

Fourth would still get Wellington a home game in the first week of the finals but the first and second-placed teams - Melbourne Victory has a strangle-hold on the Premiers' Plate - get the first week of the finals off and then play at home for a place in the grand final.

That is a huge advantage.

Phoenix has the home-ground advantage on Sunday, but - amazingly - Sydney hasn't lost an away game all season.

"I read that stat about Sydney and I wasn't sure if it was true," Sigmund said. "We'll just have to try to be the first team to beat them when they're away from home.

"There's obviously a lot riding on the result - our club has never achieved a top-two finish in its history.

"I'm getting older and these moments don't come along very often, so it's very exciting. You've got to enjoy it while you can. I just want to make the most of it.

"We've got to be able to look in the mirror after the game and say we gave it your best shot and whatever that brings, it brings.

"In the second half against Central Coast we all gave it our best shot and that got us over the line. If we can do that every week from now on, then, who knows? Maybe we can walk away with the grand final."