Sydney FC defender Sebastian Ryall believes the Sky Blues can draw confidence from their away victory against Pohang Steelers heading into today’s clash against the Central Coast Mariners at Central Coast Stadium.
Ryall, who played the full 90 minutes in Korea, said the win has made the travel and demands of continental football easier on the squad as he said everyone believes they’ll be competing in the Hyundai A-League Finals Series this season.
“Getting the result in Korea was good and it was a good performance and good for confidence so we’ll take that into the match,” Ryall said.
“It’s not the best way to prepare for a match flying the day before internationally but always when you win a match it makes it a lot easier.
“We just have to get ready for the match, understand our roles and it’s just a matter of executing it.
“We understand that we’re in a position where we need to be winning matches and to get that win will do us the world of good.
“They’re big clubs we’re playing in the Asian Champions League and to get to the top of the group is a good feeling and we believe in the squad that we’ve got some fantastic players and it’s just a matter of getting results from now on in.
“To improve the way we did against a big club in Korea was a big ask but we’ll take confidence from that.”
Ryall said he was unsure as to why the Sky Blues were performing so well at continental level but experiencing mixed results domestically, as he said the squad will be giving everything to win their remaining games in the league.
“It’s strange that we can play so well and then the next match not do so well,” Ryall said.
“I don’t know what it is but we just need to win matches and we understand the job today and how important it is to win. We’ll be playing for our lives to win.
“There’s only four matches left in the season and we’re coming seventh so we have to win, we’re confident we can and we’ve got the players to do it.
“It’s not where we want to be on the ladder but we’re top of the group in the Champions League.
“It’s a very tight competition this year and out of the seven teams anyone could win it so we’d like to be higher up the ladder but the season isn’t finished yet, we want to get in the semi-finals and then anything can happen.”
Sydney FC take on the Central Coast Mariners this afternoon at Central Coast Stadium (kick off 5:15pm). Catch the game live on Fox Sports 4, listen live on ABC Grandstand or follow @SydneyFC on Twitter for updates.
