Having contested two Grand Finals with Melbourne City in the past, Sydney FC Head Coach Steve Corica is looking forward to the challenge of the Victorians again, when they meet in the Semi-Finals for the first time.
Having won the Premiership, Melbourne City earned the week off and now travel to Sydney on Friday night to take on the Sky Blues at Allianz Stadium in the first leg.
And Steve Corica is excited at the prospect of playing against the best.
“We’ve had some great games against them in the past and we are looking forward to the challenge this time around.
“We know they’re a fantastic team so we know how difficult it is going to be, but we have had some good form at the moment and we believe we can go through to the Final,” Corica said.
There appears to be a spring in the step around the Macquarie University training pitches and the Sydney FC Head Coach hasn’t just seen it following the win over the Western Sydney Wanderers.
“We have been unbeaten in six games now so it has slowly been building,” he said.
“Yes there is a great spring in the step at the moment as the more games you win the more confident the boys get.
“We’re in another Semi-Final and that’s what this club is all about.”
With Melbourne City scoring the most goals in the competition once again, Steve Corica knows that defence is going to be key.
“They’ve got quite a number of stars, don’t they,” he joked to the press.
“It’s important we work hard as a unit defensively but we know their strengths so we need to focus on all of them.
“It’s all about the structure we are going to put out and how hard we are going to work defensively to stop them from scoring goals.”
Corica also provided an update on the health of Joe Lolley after he featured only briefly in last week’s Sydney Derby win.
“He’ll play a little bit more than last week. We were precautionary with him last week which gives him more time to rest ahead of this week and the second leg too.
“We will see if we need him this week and we’ll see how we go. It’s basically one step at a time,” Corica said.
Regardless of the presence of Englishman Joe Lolley, the Head Coach is thankful to have the spine of his team present.
“We really missed that spine at the start of the season and then we lost a few through injury, like Adam [Le Fondre] and Jack [Rodwell].
“They’re important players and they’re big game players. They’ve got a lot of experience and most of all they lead by example,” he added.
Finally, Corica is wanting to overturn that 2021 painful Grand Final defeat against City.
“Finals are special, special games. I’d like to put that right,” Corica concluded.
Match Details
Sydney FC v Melbourne City
Isuzu UTE A-League Semi Final First Leg
Friday 12th May 2023
Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Kick Off: 7:45pm AEST
Gates Open: 6:45pm AEST
Broadcast Live: Paramount+ & 10Bold
Tickets: Click Here
