With new signing Lucas Neill in tow, against the club he rejected, Sydney FC were confident but that all came to naught as they fell 3-1 to Melbourne Heart at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon.
Neill was booed by the home fans with every touch of the ball, and the impressive performance from a Heart side that look destined for the finals may have him wishing he made the other decision.
The weather between the two cities could not have been more different, with Sydney facing a downpour at home they arrived to a very hot Melbourne, which made for a slow opening to the match.
The first real quality chance of the match lead to the opening goal as Jeremy Walker ran to the area and sent the ball to Richard Garcia, on the wing, who crossed for David Williams at the far post, allowing him to nod the ball down for Jonatan Germano, laying it back for Nick Kalmar who scored with a perfectly placed finish.
Five minutes later Heart made it two as Eli Babalj was put through by David Vrankovic, allowing him to lay off for Germano who hit it powerfully in to the corner of the net.
Heart were on a roll and could well have gone three up just moments later as a Williams back heel put Babalj clean through but Vedran Janjentovic came up for Sydney FC to keep the score down to 2-0 at the break.
Sydney FC looked a better side after half-time but disaster struck not even ten minutes in to the half as Seb Ryall brought down Williams in the area, earning a straight red card for his trouble.
That allowed Williams to step up to the spot and he calmly slotted the penalty, sending Janjentovic the wrong way to give Heart a three goal lead.
Facing a heavy defeat Sydney FC regrouped and looked to go for a goal, which they got just four minutes later as the ball was left bobbling in the area Joel Griffiths was able to turn and shoot powerfully in to the top corner to give Sydney a shout.
Sydney FC kept pushing for the final half-hour, looking the better team, but struggled to create chances as Heart ran out 3-1 winners.
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