Adam Le Fondre just can’t stop scoring.
The former Reading striker has scored 14 goals in as many games this season – taking his tally at Sydney FC to 37 in all competitions – as he leads Jamie Maclaren by one goal in the race for the Golden Boot.
Le Fondre sits third in the club’s all-time goal scorers list with Alex Brosque (83) and Bobo (52) ahead of him.
The 33-year-old was once again on song as Sydney FC stormed home in the annual Big Blue at AAMI Park against Melbourne Victory, with Alex Baumjohann receiving the man-of-the-match honours after picking up a goal and two assists.
Baumjohann combined with Le Fondre to open the scoring in the 27th minute, before the German’s chaotic ball across the six-yard box was tucked away by the night’s villain – Kosta Barbarouses.
The German did find the back of the net in the 85th minute, before an altercation with Victory’s Leigh Broxham sparked a stoppage time brawl which saw both players sent off.
“I thought he was outstanding tonight Alex, he’s been brilliant since he’s come. He’s a great addition to the squad,” Le Fondre told FNR post-match.
“I’ve been giving him a lot of stick about not scoring and he got one tonight, obviously he got sent off which was an unfortunate event and we’re going miss him for a week.
“Alex has set up four of my goals, Kosta [Barbarouses] has set up four of my goals, so without them I wouldn’t have the goals. It’s not like I’m getting on the halfway line and shooting, I’m getting balls put on a plate for me and I’m doing the rest.”
The Sky Blues sit 11 points clear on top the table after 14 rounds and with their next three matches against bottom five sides, it does not look like this run will be coming to an end any time soon.
“We just need to keep doing the same things,” Le Fondre said.
“I don’t think the culture here or the boys in the change rooms even they won’t let the standards drop and we’re not going to let the standards drop. We drive the culture ourselves as players to achieve high standards and that’s what we’ve got to keep up.”
Head coach Steve Corica shared such views when questioned about how to best keep the side motivated during the second half of the season.
“They didn’t show any [complacency] today,” he said.
“We had a chat during the week because that was the halfway mark, what we had achieved up until then was great but there’s areas that we can improve and we will improve. One of them was obvs defensively keeping clean sheets and we did that.
“I believe we can be better with the ball at times we can be a bit sloppy and give the ball away a little too cheaply, but these areas that we can work on and get better. There’s no complacency we want to keep winning.”
Featured Image: Hyundai A-League
