Lions 2013: Tactics for the deciding Test are spelt out loud and clear for Jonny Sexton after despair in Melbourne "The last thing we want to think about is it being 1-1 and having to play another game in Sydney," Gatland said on announcing his side. There is no sure-fire way to guarantee that players will be pitch-perfect psychologically. Too relaxed and the edge may disappear: too pumped-up and cool-headedness gives way to wild abandon. Even so, there was a sense that the Lions were too bound up in the sense of the occasion, all too aware of what was at stake, a first series victory in 16 years. Sexton was honest enough to acknowledge the team's limitations on the night, the stultifying nature of their play. "There was plenty wrong with our performance as a team and at times it felt like we were wishing the game to finish rather than going out and going after it," said Sexton, candid as well as rueful. With an advantage in the series, perhaps there was no need to play a high-risk, high-reward game. The Lions also lacked the set-piece stability they had enjoyed at the Suncorp Stadium. They were splintered by the Wallabies in the early stages and chastised by referee, Craig Joubert. That there was a significant turnaround in the second half did not unduly affect matters apart from reduce the threat of Christian Leali'ifano having shots at goal. Given that he didn't miss a thing all night, landing the tricky conversion of Adam Ashley-Cooper's 75th-minute try that was to see the Wallabies to victory, the Lions did well to keep him out of range. The line-out was not a pillar of reliability either, with a few scratchy, scrambled returns, the most costly of which was the lost line-out inside the Wallaby 22 with just a couple of minutes remaining. Australia had taken the lead with Ashley-Cooper's try but tightened up themselves as glory hoved into view. James O'Connor blundered by kicking out on the full, giving the Lions prime position and ready to strike. Yet Geoff Parling could only get fingertips to the throw, flicking it on to the tail where Wallaby replacement Liam Gill snaffled it from Dan Cole, with echoes of Justin Harrison's spot of line-out pilfering against Martin Johnson in the third Test in 2001. That incident happened in the dying moments of the third Test, a see-saw battle in Sydney. As then, the Lions had squandered an opening Test victory with defeat in the second in Melbourne, a thumping no less. Yet still they had plenty to offer. This feels more downbeat. This feels as if there has been a momentum shift. This feels as if the Lions will have an Everest to climb at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday night. They have notable figures on the brink of a return to fitness - long-term absentee Jamie Roberts, at centre, while a clean bill of health for Alex Corbisiero and his calf injury would also be a boon. Incredibly Mako Vunipola lasted the course on Saturday. He did at least hang in there. The Lions need to threaten more through the middle, bringing North off his wing to dispatch him on a mission of mayhem. He was cast in the role of witness to events on Saturday rather than creator. Australia will have their dander well and truly up. They came through a week of disruption and strain in great fettle although the probable loss of their impressive captain, lock James Horwill, at his disciplinary appeal hearing on Monday, will be a blow. As ever, Will Genia, was the instigator of so much that is threatening in the Wallaby game. He tried to work Folau into the game more often but it did not quite happen. Nonetheless there was an inevitability about the Ashley-Cooper score, the only try of the night, Genia guiding his men through 14 phases before popping the ball to James O'Connor who released his centre through the gap. There was, of course, one last possible hurrah for the Lions only for Mr Reliable, Leigh Halfpenny, to under-clip a terribly taxing kick from 55 metres. As Sexton noted so acutely, the Lions did not deserve a lucky break. In Sydney it is imperative that they create their own good fortune.