In-form Sky Blues defender Alexandar Popovic says counting his side out would be a mistake as they gear-up for their home semi-final clash with the Newcastle Jets.
Across the 26-game campaign, the Sky Blues conceded the fewest goals in the A-League, and will go head to head with the competition’s best attack in the Jets, this Saturday night.
After 11 consecutive starts in that successful defence, the 23-year-old believes his sides’ form and desire will give them a serious advantage to go all the way.
“You can never count us out,” Popović said. “We didn’t have our best game [against Victory] and we have a lot to improve on if we want to win the whole thing.
“We’ve conceded 26 goals this season and honestly, in my opinion, that’s 26 too many.
“[But] We’re Sydney FC, we always have to be confident.
“Winning any Elimination Final is great, but we haven’t won it [the Championship] yet.”
The Jets side have scored the most goals in the Isuzu-UTE A-League this season with 55 which will seriously test the Sky Blues defence, but Popovic re-iterated the game will come down to desire.
“It’s a semi-final, it just comes down to who wants it more on the day,” he said.
“We approach it like any other game. We listen to the boss, try to execute the plan and work as hard as we can.
“We know we can come back from anything.
“We work extremely hard, we’ve got a lot of quality, and we just want to keep improving.
“We’re Sydney FC, so we always believe.”
Popović has featured in 19 matches this season since joining the side on a permanent deal at the start of the Isuzu-UTE A-League 2024/2025 season.
He believes the experience of Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo and the skills and performances of a few key players helped the club overcome Melbourne Victory and will stand them in good stead for the remainder of the campaign.
“He [Patrick Kisnorbo] won a Premiership as a coach, so we’ve got full trust in him,” Popović noted.
“He’s been there and done it as a coach and as a player.
“Everyone knows what Joe [Lolley] can provide for this team. We’re just happy to have him back fit and involved again.
“Harrison’s [Devenish-Meares] been top. We just let him do what he does and hopefully he can continue that form.
“He [Patrick Wood] deserves it [praise] after the season he’s had. He’s really humble. He hasn’t spoken about it [the winner against Victory] too much and just keeps [it] low-key.”
Sydney FC continue their Isuzu UTE A-League finals campaign this Saturday against the Newcastle Jets at Allianz Stadium, putting their top-ranked defence up against the best attacking side in the comp. Kick-off at 7:40pm.
