I honestly don't bother too much if i am playing against 2-5-3 any more. Several times i have played 4-3-3 or 5-2-3 longball, even had a crack at 4-2-4 long ball against 2-5-3, and still came up short, as like you, i was attacking a defence, and still went down. 5-2-3 seems to be the flavor of the day lately. I tried it once, and got my arse thoroughly roasted lol, so i went back to my normal 4-5-1.