Luke Brattan knows exactly what is at stake when the first Sydney Derby in a Finals Series kicks off on Saturday night.
There are no second chances from this weekend. It is do or die. Win and progress. Lose and your season is over.
And the Sydney FC midfielder, who has won four Isuzu UTE A-League Championships in his career, believes this game could surpass all Derbies before it.
“It’s the biggest game of our lives.
“We need to win this game. We want to win this game for the club to get back to where we belong,” Brattan said.
“We need to defend for our lives and attack the way we can, with the freedom and quality that we have.”
Brattan knows the magnitude of the game awaiting both sides at CommBank Stadium this weekend.
“I’ve played in some pretty big games and this has the feeling to be one of the biggest.
“This is the first time we’ve met in Finals so it’s going to be great for football in Australia,” the midfielder said.
Despite finishing three points below Western Sydney Wanderers but with the same amount of wins as their neighbours, Brattan is wary of the danger that they pose.
“It’s going to be tough. They’re desperate as they haven’t made Finals for a while.
“This is huge for their club however we are just worried about ourselves because we’ve got a job to do and we’ll aim to do that,” he said.
After missing key players for the last Sydney Derby, which saw the Wanderers run out 4-0 winners, Brattan believes that they can use that to their advantage.
“What happened hurt everyone at the club a lot.
“I think we still haven’t put a 90-minute performance together like we can so when we get that, and you know it is going to happen sooner or later, it’s going to be great – and that’s what we’re looking to do this game,” he commented.
“We’re in a good place. We haven’t really had out strongest eleven on the pitch for periods of time which hurt us a little, but Finals are one off games, so there are no more excuses.
“We’re a successful club and we want to fight for trophies.”
It is winner takes all on Saturday evening and both teams will be out to prove they are the ones that own the city.
Match Details
Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC
Isuzu UTE A-League Elimination Final
Saturday 6th May 2023
CommBank Stadium, Parramatta, NSW
Kick Off: 7:45pm AEST
Broadcast Live: Paramount+ & 10Bold
Tickets: Click Here
