With a short turnaround between matches, Sydney FC defender Sebastian Ryall has praised the training methods employed by the Sky Blues staff ahead of Thursday night’s clash at Allianz Stadium against the Wellington Phoenix (kick off 8pm).
Ryall said he was pleased with his performances in recent weeks, with the Sky Blues having not lost a game he’s started in (W3 D3), while he said he’s hoping to get the nod at centre back with Jacques Faty returning to training and emerging as a replacement.
“I think training has never been so good,” Ryall said.
“This is my sixth year now [at the club] and the standard of training is really really great and keeping everyone on their toes.
“I enjoyed it [playing at centre back], I played a lot of my junior football there and I feel comfortable playing in any position.
“We didn’t get the result but there’s positives to come out of that, we got the clean sheet, and we’re moving forward now. They didn’t score a goal and that’s my job [so I’m happy with my performance].
“There’s a lot of competition for spots, there’s two players for each position so it’s a matter of when you play you do well and I’m not sure what the line up is just yet but there will be pressure I think.
“We’re happy with the way we’ve been defending,” he continued.
“We speak about it a lot in meetings. Defence wins Premierships and it’s something we worked a lot on during the offseason and the results are showing that so far.
“It’s good to be back at home, with a quick turnaround I think the boys have prepared well. We’re a good group of professionals so we’re ready to go tomorrow night.”
Ryall is set to go toe to toe with his former Head Coach Ernie Merrick as he said the Sky Blues will have to be on their toes to counter the attacking threats that the New Zealand team possess in their ranks.
“I’ve seen a bit of them play [this season],” he said.
“I’ve played under Ernie Merrick before and I know he’s a fantastic coach and they play a very attractive style of play so we’ll have to be at our best tomorrow.
“They’re scoring a lot of goals but they’ve definitely got weaknesses and we’ll have to exploit that but we have to be aware of their attacking powers.
“They’re a very good squad, they play a very attacking style of football and we’ll have to be ready.”
Sydney FC take on the Wellington Phoenix at Allianz Stadium tomorrow night (kick off 8pm). Come straight from the office and cheer on the Sky Blues in some midweek football!
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