Joe Lolley is on the brink of winning the Alex Tobin Medal and a great performance on Sunday against Perth Glory could secure him the honour of being rated the best player in the league.
He recently signed a new two year deal which will keep him in Sky Blue until 2026 and with the prospect of an individual honour, the Englishman isn’t going to be letting up with Finals football already secured.
“It’s always nice to win a personal award which shows the hard hard work you’ve put in week in week out and playing every game.
“I always want to be the best player and I want to score and assist more but it always helps motivation if you have something on the line,” he said.
“It’s something to look back on especially when you’re retired and be proud of.”
With last week’s disappointing loss against Macarthur, Joe Lolley believes this Sunday is the perfect opportunity to bounce back.
Perth Glory are struggling at the bottom of the table and their away form has been inconsistent, with their last win away from HBF Park coming against Western Sydney Wanderers in January.
They have been scoring a lot of goals with Adam Taggart within reach of the League’s Golden Boot but they leak a lot at the other end and with the Sky Blues looking to ramp up their goals into finals, this could provide the perfect game-plan for them.
“We need to make sure that we finish as strong as possible and Sunday gives us a chance to do that.
“It would be nice to have a home tie in the Finals but it doesn’t matter who we play because in those big games we have got the right results which will give us a lot of confidence going into the Finals,” he said.
“If we do take our foot off the pedal for as little as 5%, you get punished and that’s what it’s been like lately, so we need to focus on Sunday and concentrate on getting a win.”
Perth Glory while they cannot get off the foot of the table, they will be playing for pride at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
This is a unique challenge for the Sky Blues as it should create an open match with the Western Australians playing with a carefree attitude that promotes a high risk, high reward playing style.
“It can be difficult because if there is no pressure on them, they have nothing to lose.
“They’ve got no pressure on them for results so they just want to perform for the best of their capabilities and show the manager what they can do so it will be a difficult game.
“We need to be mentally ready and make sure that we finish the season as strong as possible,” he concluded.
Match Details
Sydney FC v Perth Glory
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 26
Sunday 28th April 2024
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick Off: 3:00pm AEST
Gates Open: 2:00pm AEST
Broadcast Live: Paramount+ & 10Bold
Tickets: Click Here
