Yorke close to boyhood dream

The 34-year-old Yorke helped deliver on a promise last weekend to have Sydney FC back on top of the Australia A-League before he goes to his native Trinidad and Tobago to try to fulfil a boyhood dream — playing in the World Cup finals.

He helped Sydney FC bounce back to winning form — with goals from Sasho Petrovski and David Carney — in a 2-0 triumph over the New Zealand Knights at Aussie Stadium to send them to the top of the Hyundai A-League competition ladder.

The Trinidad and Tobago captain, who is 180 minutes away from what he describes as "the most amazing thing in football for me", had issued a challenge to his adopted club last week after a 5-0 loss to Melbourne.

"Melbourne gave us a lesson in football. It did leave a sour taste but we have to take it on the chin and make sure it doesn’t happen again," he said.

"This (New Zealand Knights match) is a test for us as a team and the character of the players to see who is mentally tough," he said.

Sydney FC delivered for their coach and captain Yorke with first half goals by Petrovski (10th) and Carney (31st).

Yorke will be available for the next three club matches before he plays two of the most important World Cup qualifiers of his life against Bahrain.