After turning the corner against Adelaide, in performance if not result, the Sky Blues continued their step up in class and quality. The passing combinations were finally there, defending was for the most part watertight, and the midfield did its job at both ends of the park.

It’s been a helluva month. Four losses on the bounce, Australia’s highest profile football club has been living a fishbowl existence with each playing mistake magnified, coaching decisions scrutinised and the merits of Frank Farina’s appointment to the top job debated ad infinitum. On that front I believe the right call has been made.

The decision to give Hagi Gligor his first senior start was a masterstroke, and the youngster did not disappoint. It was a touch unfair making young Hagi come out onto the field holding the hand of a child only a couple of inches shorter than he is, but ours is a sport where the biggest aren’t necessarily the best, and the 17 year old showed more than enough quality to at least be considered for the squad each and every week. He certainly knows how to pass a ball.

We’ll never know if Farina had something to do with Gligor’s promotion, but I suspect he did have a say in the dropping of Ivan Necevski. Ivan has been mostly solid to date, so the decision came as something of a surprise. Vedran Janjetovic had a decent debut, brave though somewhat ponderous in distribution and pulling out a superb save at full stretch when it mattered most.

Heart came not to lose and got their point, agriculturally obtained as it was. The hacking all over the legs on Del Piero was relentless, enabled by the spineless Strebre Delovski who refused to punish a team clearly intent on kicking, grabbing or shirt-pulling Del Piero whenever he received so much as a sniff of the ball. FIFA rules clearly state:

“A player can be cautioned by the referee for a number of offences such as unsporting behaviour or persistent fouling.”          

No foul on Del Piero was enough to break bones. Instead it was clever and cunning pushing of the envelope – a pull here, a trip there, a kick and a two-armed rugby tackle and so on it went, from the opening whistle to the point where Del Piero’s body finally gave out. This wasn’t quite the hackathon of Juninho-esque proportions, but John Aloisi will feel  vindicated in the knowledge that his instructions to stop Del Piero by any means possible were heeded by the players and encouraged by the referee. This side is light years from the Melbourne Heart who played exquisite one- and two-touch football under John van’t Schip.

I’ll say this for Aloisi – his clever post-match media performance crying crocodile tears over Fabio’s mistimed challenge on the lively Ben Garucchio did well to deflect attention from his “get Del Piero” tactics. He knows the media game and plays it well. Not sure if he has ever read "The Prince" but Macchiavelli would be proud.

Sydney stuck to their guns and played some breathtaking stuff, Fabio bombing out on the left and linking beautifully with Abbas and Yau. Del Piero, when he could wriggle free off the hackers, was constantly involved, and the Sky Blues lost much creativity after his departure.

And Terry McFlynn was an inspiration, winning challenges and providing foundation for attacks from the middle of the park in a non-stop performance. At this point I am going to mention an undeserving herd of baboons sitting in Bay 14 whose sole contribution to the evening was their persistent booing of the Sydney captain. These six beer-swilling morons, audible and interested only when McFlynn went anywhere near the ball are an embarrassment to the club and I for one wish they would lose their tightly fitting Sydney shirts and find another hobby.

Back to the football and we had Heart on toast but didn’t finish them off. I am not sure about needing more defenders, but I do feel we could really use a target man to get on the end of the chances we are creating. If rumours of talks with Joel Griffiths are on the money I would love to see him – a proven goal scorer - leading the line for Sydney.

End of Round 1, and what began with so much promise has ended with us propping up the table, a coach gone and a team that has at times lacked belief under pressure. There have been flashes of brilliance but over the last two weeks we have finally seen the kind of football we should have been playing in October.

Del Piero aside, my best players since Round 1 are Seb Ryall and Yaira Yau. Fabio has contributed in spurts, Abbas runs hot and cold and Emerton began the season in style but faded. The returns from injury of Bosschaart, Culina and Chianese have given us much to build on and the side is just finding its fluidity of movement and a solid structure. On the down side, Kruno Lovrek has offered little and it would not surprise me to see him sold in January; and Terry Antonis has had little opportunity to show his class.

Taking a broader view, the Mariners are in ominous form and the rest of the league will be hoping for another player sell-off to bring them back to the field. The Postecoglou machine is cranking into gear in Melbourne and Adelaide United are still in second spot though I expect them to drop to around fourth or fifth come the end of January.

Aaron Mooy, Craig Goodwin, Aziz Behich, Tom Rogic and Josh Risdon have been the young local starlets capturing the fans’ imagination. The future looks bright and the A-League continues to bring through talent to replace the recently departed likely lads Matthew Leckie, Mustafa Amini, Robbie Kruse and Curtis Good.

On to Windy Wellington in what is a short turnaround for the players, and for Farina to begin painting his Sky Blue canvas . We've struggled across the ditch lately, Phoenix completely outplaying us in Round 1. Will Del Piero make the trip across the Tasman? Will we continue the step up against a side that is just so tough to beat at home? Will our newly resolute defence do a job on Ifill, Fenton, Brockie and Huysegems – a target man and finisher who has been the quiet achiever of the A-League to date? And after two half-hour cameos is Jason Culina’s body finally ready to start a match?

Let’s hope the answer is yes to all of the above, and the Sky Blues return from New Zealand with something to crow about. In truth I’ll settle for a point but all three will certainly send a message to the league that we are back in business.