Having clearly proven themselves the strongest side in the National Youth League competition over the 21-round regular season, Sydney FC’s young guns will be out to put the icing on the cake tomorrow afternoon when they line up against Adelaide United in the inaugural NYL Grand Final.
Having clearly proven themselves the strongest side in the National Youth League competition over the 21-round regular season, Sydney FC-s young guns will be out to put the icing on the cake tomorrow afternoon when they line up against Adelaide United in the inaugural NYL Grand Final.
Steve O-Connor-s side finished well clear at the top of the table after the completion of the home and away rounds with a record of thirteen wins, two draws and only three narrow defeats, but they know it will count for nothing if they don-t bring their best against the Reds.
“We won (the League) by six points so it was a good victory in the end but it comes down to this one game,” said star midfielder, Brendan Gan after his side-s final training session on Friday. “We-re confident, but we-re not over-confident and I believe we-re going to put in a good performance.”
“There are no guarantees,” added striker Kofi Danning. “They haven-t beaten us yet this season so they-re going to come out firing and they-re at home so they have the advantage over us. We just have to go in with the right mentality and put in 100%, every single one of us.”
For all of its success, it was an unsettled Sydney FC that set the standard for others to follow in the first season of the National Youth League. The squad was forced into regular reshuffles, with almost half of the side spending significant time in the senior team, but the junior Blues are now reaping the rewards of the experience gained by those rising stars.
“I think it just gave us a bit more depth in the squad and a bit more security,” said Gan. “It-s definitely good to get the experience back into the team. I think we can add a bit of spark and hopefully we can get the win.”
And despite the fact many members of the team have already enjoyed the highs of playing in the Hyundai A-League this-season, it doesn-t diminish their desire to take the title.
“It will mean everything to me,” said Danning. “I-ve achieved everything I-ve wanted to this season, the last goal is to win the Youth League Grand Final, and for us as a team and for me personally it will mean everything.”
The National Youth League Grand Final will be played at Hindmarsh Stadium prior to the Hyundai A-League Preliminary Final between Adelaide and Queensland on Saturday.
The curtain-raiser clash between Sydney FC and the Reds kicks off at 3:00pm (AEDT) and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 3.
