Special Feature: Shane Lyons on the comeback trail for Sydney United
?It has been frustrating.?
?And the quad tear I picked up pre-season (during the Sydney FC game that kept him out for 6-weeks), hasn?t helped that situation but I?ve played a couple of reserve grade games so hopefully it won?t be long before I can get a run in the first team again.?
Those comments made prior to United?s match with South Coast Wolves last weekend were most prophetic when coming on in the 15th minute at left-back to effectively shore up a leaky defence at that stage of the game.
?Obviously it was good to get some game time out there today but I was starting to tire with 20-minutes to go.
?I?m feeling good after the run out and the guys looked good out there today so that was pleasing also.?
Showing a few of the old Lyons tricks and flicks, particularly in the first-half, has there been any side effects after the game?
?No side effects to speak of but there is a small amount of lactic acid build up which you expect after a lay-off and that slowed me down a little toward the end of the game but I think I did alright,? he responds with more than a little tongue-in-cheek!
?Picking up the quad tear at the start made me think it was going to be a topsy-turvy season and that seems to have been the way of things for me lately.
?I tried to strengthen in the off-season but something really little like that, with me being a left-back and at the time doing a shooting drill, perhaps I need to be a little smarter in my approach and focus on my strengths more.?
Early signs of the pace he has always had in the first 45-minutes when overlapping to link up with the attack and get a few telling crosses in must have been a boost to his confidence. ?Yeah, I felt good at that point and thought I did OK to be honest.
?I was stretching out a bit and getting around my player a few times and of course there were times when he got around me and I feel it was a bit of a lack of concentration by me but in the second-half I made a few runs and I?m feeling fit so I don?t want to jinx anything by saying I will hopefully make a few more appearances this season,? he chuckled.
United looked strong at the back and through the midfield with the pace and guile of Luka Glavas and Ben Vidaic up front there is surely a Top Five slot awaiting the club at season?s end and although no talk at this early stage of such an event it has to be something they are striving for, as with all clubs, to not only achieve but perhaps go further.
?JP (coach Jean-Paul De Marigny) has got the boys playing well and producing some good football and even when we win he is getting us to focus on how we can be better.
?That makes a big difference to the boys when coming off a win where we feel we?ve won well because JP will say something like ?You?ve won but you could have won better? and that keeps everyone?s feet on the ground and thinking about how we can go about doing that.
?It?s good to have a coach like that in every aspect of the game and so long as we play like he tells us to we should do alright this year.?
-By Micky Brock
