Sydney FC’s much-talked about young guns will be reunited this weekend when a near full- strength Sky Blue youth side – including Brendan Gan, Kofi Danning, Rhyan Grant and Matt Jurman – returns to Cromer Park for its final home outing this season to tackle Melbourne Victory.
Sydney FC-s much-talked about young guns will be reunited this weekend when a near full- strength Sky Blue youth side – including Brendan Gan, Kofi Danning, Rhyan Grant and Matt Jurman – returns to Cromer Park for its final home outing this season to tackle Melbourne Victory.
The side has three regular matches to play before the National Youth League-s inaugural Grand Final, which will pit the top two teams on the ladder against each other in a one-off decider on February 21.
Skipper Chris Triantis has been a mainstay of the side all season and the defensive midfielder said that the last few weeks have presented different challenges for the team as its depth has been tested while trying to maintain top-billing on the table.
“Sometimes teams just try and come and put the up the brick wall and try and defend,” he said. “We rushed a bit (against Newcastle last week) in the first half to get an early goal to kill them off and it didn-t come off – but we took the boys in at half-time, told them you-ve just got to keep calm, play it around, and the goals usually come. We played better and got the goals.”
While Queensland and Adelaide look set to slug it out for second spot in the final rounds, Steve O-Connor-s side has sat at the summit of the league all season, and the return of Sydney’s rising first team stars to bolster the line-up should see the junior Blues return to their free-flowing best as they look to re-focus for the run into the decider.
For a group that has enjoyed success individually and as a unit this season, Triantis says the focus is still well and truly there to fulfil what they set out to achieve four months ago.
“We-re all really looking forward to the Grand Final and hopefully we win – you don-t want to go all this way and not win it.”
Sydney FC-s youth side is the last Sky Blues- outfit still standing this season and this weekend-s clash with Melbourne is the final chance to see them live in their quest to bring silverware back to Moore Park.
Kick-off at Dee Why-s Cromer Park on Sunday is at 5pm.
