Carle's focus on Phoenix, not Socceroos

Updated February 24, 2012 20:33:47

Sydney FC's Nick Carle is not letting an impending Socceroos return distract his focus from a potentially season-defining match against Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.

Carle, 30, is set to end more than two years of exile from the national team in next week's World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia in Melbourne.

The hard-working midfielder is relishing a chance to impress Socceroos coach Holger Osieck but insists his immediate focus is only on the Phoenix, as Sydney FC looks to take a giant leap towards the A-League finals at Sydney Football Stadium.

Sydney can draw level with the fourth-placed Phoenix should it register its third successive win on Saturday, putting the Sky Blues in a strong position to secure a finals berth with four rounds remaining.

"At the moment all I've got my head focused on is this Wellington game, I know how big it is in this season for us," Carle said.

"Once that's done, I'll switch to going into (Socceroos) camp.

"The last few weeks have been like grand finals every week and we have to look at this one the same.

"We could really cement a spot in the six but it could also put us in a spot where we're battling again because if we lose and Newcastle win, we're out of the six again, so it's a massive game for us."

Sydney has put its season back on course with wins over Perth and Adelaide after a dismal 5-2 loss at home to Newcastle.

And Carle believes it may have been the performance against the Jets that sparked a late-season revival.

"I think the team has shown this year when our back's against the wall, you get the best out of us," he said.

"After the Newcastle game I think it felt like we had our backs up against the wall, we dropped out of the six and knew we had to get the results."

Sydney received a further confidence boost with young gun Terry Antonis closing in on making his return from a hamstring injury, though Karol Kisel (groin) is likely to miss out again.

The Phoenix are facing a third straight loss after defeats to heavyweights Brisbane Roar and Central Coast but welcome back Tim Brown and Andrew Durante after both missed last week's 2-0 loss to the Mariners due to suspension.

"They (Durante and Brown) are so important to the team with their leadership qualities and we definitely missed them against the Mariners," Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert said.

"It is good to have them back and I'm sure you will see a much improved performance against Sydney."

AAP

Tags: a-league, soccer, sport, sydney-2000

First posted February 24, 2012 20:20:33

View the original article here

Carle's absence a concern for Lavicka

Posted April 11, 2011 12:05:00

Coach Vitezslav Lavicka says an injury to marquee man Nicky Carle poses problems for Sydney FC in Wednesday's crucial Asian Champions League match against Japan's Kashima Antlers.

Playmaker Carle strained his hamstring in the latter stages of last week's 1-1 home draw with China's Shanghai Shenghua and will miss the match at Sydney Football Stadium.

The injury to the skilful Socceroo comes at a bad time, with Sydney desperate for a win after drawing its first two ACL matches at home and with its last three fixtures all overseas.

"It's trouble for Nicky and it's trouble for us," said Lavicka, who also hinted at injury concerns over some other team members.

"He will be out hopefully for only the next game, but we have to solve it.

"We have several options how we can replace him.

"But it's difficult to replace the marquee player because Nicky, especially in the last games of this season, has shown his quality and he is an important part, especially when we are attacking.

"We have to replace him but we have players who are younger than him and less experienced."

Asked if Sydney had any other fitness worries heading into Wednesday, Lavicka says he had a couple of players with small medical problems, but declined to reveal their identities.

"That's only for tactical reasons, the Japanese team is here in Sydney, so they save their team, we would like to save our team," Lavicka said.

-AAP

View the original article here