Sydney FC Captain Alex Wilkinson says confidence isn’t wavering ahead of the Sky Blues’ Semi-Final clash on Wednesday week.
Fresh from guiding the club to a record fourth Hyundai A-League Premiership, Wilkinson said the Sky Blues’ squad possess enough big-game experience to ensure Head Coach Steve Corica’s men are every chance of defending their Championship.
“There’s a little bit of everything we’ve got to improve on but we haven’t lost confidence,” Wilkinson said.
“The group is an experienced one, we’ve been there and done that before and we’re really looking forward to the Semi-Final.
“We’ve been a very successful club over the last four years and that’s built on players winning things. Building that culture around winning.
“We’ve got experienced guys in the dressing room who’ve played in big games before and we’ve got to step up in the Semi-Final and deliver.
“We wanted to go out with a win [in the last game against Western United] and lift the trophy with a win but it wasn’t to be,” he continued.
“It doesn’t take anything away from the season we’ve had, it’s been a fantastic season.
“We fully deserve the Premiership and the boys need to be congratulated and enjoy the moment, but we’ve got a big game coming up.”
Reflecting on the club’s recent performances, the skipper identified areas of improvement, while highlighting the quality on offer with recent second half performances a sign of what the Sky Blues can do when on song.
“The key is just getting back to what we’re good at,” Wilkinson said.
“I think we’ve got to stop copping silly goals, soft goals, but we’ve also got to be a little bit better going forward as well, keeping possession.
“We’re turning over too many balls and when we do that in our own half we’re open
“Defensively we’ve got to stop leaking soft goals. Defence wins you Championships so we’ve got to start keeping clean sheets like we did earlier in the season.
“In saying that, in the last two games especially in the second half we’ve been quite good. There’s definitely signs there, it’s not all doom and gloom.”
Sydney FC are in Semi-Final action on Wednesday week, August 26th, against the lowest ranked winner of the Hyundai A-League Elimination Finals. Stay tuned to the club’s website and social media to find out who our opponent is.
