After completing his 600th club career match, Alex Wilkinson will be looking to make his 601st a winning one when he faces Newcastle Jets at Allianz Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Fresh off the back of a good win in Brisbane on Monday night, the Sydney FC captain believes that his side have what it takes to go all the way this year.
Before they can think about navigating the Finals Series, they will look to take all three points against Newcastle Jets, a result that will cement their place in fifth.
“When you’re finishing fifth there’s four teams above you who have had a better regular season and it’s up to us to get the better of them and the games are going to be difficult.
“Everyone in this squad has been there and done that plenty of times and played in big games and they know what it takes in those big moments,” the captain said.
“It’s more a matter of us continuing how we have the last few weeks in terms of building that chemistry going forward and also in defence.
“When it comes to those big moments, we have players who can stand up and perform in those crucial moments.”
The Jets will pose a tough assignment for the Sky Blues on Saturday however they will have to be cautionary with players carrying injuries through the week.
“We’ve got plenty of time between games so it’s not like we have mid-week games. We play this Saturday and then won’t play again until the following week.
“I don’t want to risk anyone that could potentially miss the following week but as players you just want to play,” he said.
“Our home form hasn’t been as good as what it should be so it would be great for us to go out with a win.”
Throughout the season, Wilkinson highlighted that his side have not performed to the defensive high standards that they set themselves.
“Defence is so important in big games and we’re really confident that we can, the way we’re attacking at the moment, score goals each game.
“But first and foremost it’s really important that we are strong defensively,” Wilkinson said.
And with one match of the regular season remaining, regardless of the form throughout the campaign, the captain knows what is expected of his side moving forward.
“We’ve got pretty high standards here and for a lot of the season we haven’t lived up to that, as we have been very inconsistent.
“The main goal was to get to Finals and now we are there, it’s about going into this game the same as we do any other game,” the number four said.
“We’ve had a couple of wins in a row and we will be looking to try and get a third win against Newcastle and head into the finals full of confidence which would be great for everyone.”
Wilkinson will lead his side out for the final time this weekend at Allianz Stadium and with three points on his mind needs as many Sky Blues in the stands as possible.
Match Details
Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 26
Saturday 29th April 2023
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick Off: 5pm AEST
Gates Open: 4pm AEST
Broadcast Live: Paramount+
Tickets: Click Here
