Sydney star Holosko gives Janko comparisons a wide berth

It did not take Slovak star Filip Holosko long to leave his mark on the A-League in his competitive debut for Sydney FC.

Holosko

Filip Holosko wasted little time getting Sky Blues fans on side Source: Getty Images

The Sky Blues' new marquee man scored his team's goal in a 1-1 draw with Melbourne City when he was in the right spot at the right time to ram home an equaliser on the stroke of half time.

Holosko played for an hour before he asked to be replaced, when he appeared to hurt his hamstring.

Holosko had a quiet game but he caught the eye with a few deft passes that suggested Sydney may have acquired a quality player to fill the shoes of the club's previous marquee Marc Janko.

"For a start I want to make it clear that I am not a striker but a right-winger, which is a little different," Holosko said.

"I'm not like Marc Janko. He's a striker in the penalty box but I play on the right.

"I'm obviously happy to score goals but I'm equally happy to make goals for others.

"Everybody wants goals and assists from me and I hope I do my job for the team and we are successful this season.

"It was my first game in the A-League, where points were at stake.

"I scored the goal but unfortunately we did not win.



"The first half was not good for us but after the break we played better and had some scoring opportunities but we did not take them.

"Okay I'm happy (to get on the scoresheet) in my first game in a new country but for me the team is more important.

"I have played for Besiktas in Turkey and I am just glad to come here and play for Sydney which is the biggest club in the country.

"I've been here for two months and I feel good. My pre-season was great and I did not miss one training session."

Holosko, who played for Slovakia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and came up against his Sydney FC team-mate Shane Smeltz in a group game against New Zealand in Rustenberg, said he was looking forward to a memorable experience in Australia after a nine-year stint in Turkey.

"I'm told the A-League is getting better every year and I enjoyed watching Adelaide and Melbourne Victory on Friday night," Holosko, who has played 65 times for his country, said.

"It was a good game but it was both teams' first game of the season and at this stage it is difficult for everybody.

"With more games I should be able to improve the understanding with right back Sebastian Ryall.

"It's a long season ahead of us and I hope we get better with every game and step by step we end up winning the championship."

Holosko may not be fit for Sydney's next match against Newcastle Jets after tweaking his hamstring early in the second half.

"I felt a cramp and something went 'putt', I don't know how you say this in English. I wanted to carry on playing but when I made a sprint it did not feel 100 per cent.

"So I asked the coach to get somebody else in.

"It is not something major and hopefully I will be okay to play in the next game."

Sydney coach Graham Arnold, who himself left Australia as a player in the 1980s to forge a career abroad, acknowledged that moving to a new team in a new country has its challenges.

"You got a guy coming from a totally different competition and he's got to get used to people around him he's not familiar with," Arnold explained.

"As an attacker especially it's about fluency and it's going to take time for Ryall to get used to Holosko.

"It's also going to take time for him to get used to the runs that we want him to make.

"But I thought after he got the goal and until he was out there he was very good."


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4 min read
Published 11 October 2015 5:00pm
Updated 12 October 2015 10:57am
By Philip Micallef
Source: SBS

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