Tori Tumeth has described how it would mean everything to her if her hometown club could emerge as Grand Finalists ahead of this weekend’s second semi-final leg against the Central Coast Mariners.
The defender spoke of her time playing for her Sydney FC this season and the impact she hopes to leave as the Sky Blues vie for a seventh-consecutive Grand-Final appearance.
“Coming back home to Sydney and playing for my home club was absolutely huge and meant absolutely everything.
“As an athlete and as a footballer, we aim for these games and train each week to reach a Grand Final, so it’s absolutely huge.
“It [would be] huge to be part of that history and legacy at Sydney FC,” she explained.
The defender has had a breakout season with the Sky Blues, playing just over 2000 minutes with the side, having the highest tackle efficiency rate out of any defender and recording the second-highest number of clearances out of any defender in the squad.
With the Sky Blues defeating the Mariners 1-0 in Gosford last weekend, she recapped the game from her point of view, saying:
“It was really good to get the win away.
“[But], it’s not over, and this [next] game is important, if not even more important than the week before.
“One word to describe us is focused. We know exactly what we want to do. We’ve reflected on the past game and completely focused going into this second leg.”
Tumeth further reflected on the season that was for Sydney FC, where they played in intercontinental competitions, and lost key players due to injury.
However, they finished second at the end of the home-and-away season, with the best defensive record out of any side in the league.
The 23-year-old narrated how she has learnt so much in her third season in the A-League, explaining:
“We’ve had a lot of setbacks this season, with our captain Nat doing her ACL as well as Kirsty Fenton.
“We’ve overcome a lot of hurdles; at the start of the season, we travelled over to Uzbekistan.
“I get to play amongst quality players I’m learning from each day on the training pitch”, she said.
Match Details: Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners Liberty A-League Semi Final, Second Leg Saturday 27th April, 2024 Leichhardt Oval, Sydney, NSW Kick Off: 3:00PM Gates Open: 2:00PM Broadcast Live: Paramount+ and 10PLAY Tickets: Click Here
