Lavicka left to look for answers as Heart hammer sorry Sky Blues

WHERE do you start with Sydney FC? Did they lose to Melbourne Heart because they didn't have their best player? Because their captain was missing? Did they not live up to the occasion? Or were they simply outclassed? This was a night of questions, not answers.

Had Sydney won, they'd be in second place this morning. A season-high crowd of 16,007 came to see them do it. Yet again they emptied out of the Sydney Football Stadium with the familiar feeling of frustration, and a new feeling of embarrassment. This was Sydney's biggest loss at home.

The scoreline was harsh but it served to reinforce some simple facts. Admirable spirit and intent – Sydney had enough of that – are no longer good enough to win. The second spot on offer for Sydney was somewhat deceiving; right now, they are not a top-two side. Five points behind the second-placed Heart, which is where they find themselves, is more accurate.

One glaring fact is Sydney won't win anything this season without Nicky Carle, who is not just their most inventive player but their most effective. His creative spark and unpredictability left a gaping hole. Sydney had plenty of thread but, without Carle, nobody could find the needle.

Positives did come in the form of Terry Antonis, who excelled in the holding position. He might provide unexpected competition for Terry McFlynn as the season goes on. That was about it.

On the contrary, the Heart played the most intelligent football seen at Moore Park all season. They sat back early and absorbed Sydney's pressure before emerging to fire in two shots before half-time. After the break, they fired a third to finish the job. Liam Reddy's late howler – accidentally dropping the ball at the feet of Alex Terra – was a Christmas gift to the Victorians.

The Heart will play in the finals this year and deservedly so. They might even rattle some cages at the business end. Are they contenders? We'll see in the long run. Right now, it's hard to argue otherwise.

Making two changes to the side that drew with Adelaide last Thursday, Sydney had the better of the opening half-hour but they went into the break chasing a two-goal deficit; easy enough to claw back against the Gold Coast but not so against a top team.

Brazilian star Fred manufactured the first goal after 33 minutes, in a passage where his genius shone through. He's 32, but you wouldn't know it. His mind, sharp as ever, is matched by a willing body. He broke the shackles of Pascal Bosschaart to reach the byline before pulling back for Eli Babalj, who finished neatly.

There's no denying Babalj is an impressive talent but he's not the only attacking threat of the A-League's youngest club. Mate Dugandzic is an equally potent threat and, just as Babalj found himself on the end of Fred's good work, Dugandzic capitalised on Rutger Worm's surging run to meet Aziz Behich's through ball. Worm drew Reddy off his line and Dugandzic blasted into the roof of the net.

Sydney needed to change things in the second half, and Vitezslav Lavicka showed no hesitation in pulling the reins at the main break, hauling off Shannon Cole and bringing on Mark Bridge for his first appearance this month. Juho Makela also came on as the Czech gambled on a comeback.

Bruno Cazarine was lucky to escape with a yellow card in the 60th minute when his raised studs found the chest of Adrian Madaschi in a dangerous challenge, but that was as much teeth as Sydney showed.

A beautiful flowing move involving Dugandzic and Behich 14 minutes from time ended with Hoffman squaring home a goal to put the result beyond doubt, but worse was to come. Reddy picked up a harmless ball in the box and it somehow squeezed out of his hands, allowing Terra to score an easy goal. It was an awful end to a forgettable night.