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Sydney FC captain Alex Wilkinson says his team have learned valuable lessons ahead of Sunday's top-of-table clash with Melbourne City.
Sydney FC captain Alex Wilkinson believes Sunday night's opponents Melbourne City could face a backlash after his side's winning run came to an end at Wellington Phoenix last weekend.
The A-League ladder leaders scored first but conceded twice before battling back to salvage a 2-2 draw against the Phoenix, snapping the Sky Blues' six-game winning streak.
Ahead of Sunday's top-of-table clash at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, captain Alex Wilkinson insisted Sydney FC will not make the same mistake again.
"We were a little bit disappointed with the first half (against Wellington)," he said.
"We started really well but as soon as we scored the goal we seemed to take the foot off the pedal a little bit and let them back into the game.
"That's been one major talking point this week - if we do score first we need to be a little more ruthless and go on with it."
The Sky Blues are six points clear at the top of the ladder and full of confidence, which has been boosted by a string of high-profile re-signings.
Coach Steve Corica as well as stars Milos Ninkovic and Michael Zullo have all committed beyond the end of the season.
A win on Sunday would elevate the reigning champions even higher above the chasing pack as they aim for back-to-back titles.
Melbourne City snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Sky Blues with a 2-0 win at Leichhardt Oval back in March, but are coming off a 2-1 derby loss to Melbourne Victory last weekend.
However, Wilkinson said the Sky Blues will not alter their game plan to reflect Victory's successful tactics against their city rivals.
"We don't look at what other teams have done, we more look at what we've done in the past against them," he said.
"We play a different style to other teams so it's pointless preparing with what other teams do against them.
"I think our form over the last five or six weeks has been very, very good and we look forward to this game."
