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Sydney FC face catch-22 in A-League semi

3 minute read

Sydney FC are wary of Melbourne Victory's counter-attacking capabilities going into their home A-League semi-final against the defending champions.

RHYAN GRANT of Sydney FC passes during the A-League match between Sydney FC and the Wellington Phoenix at WIN Jubilee Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
RHYAN GRANT of Sydney FC passes during the A-League match between Sydney FC and the Wellington Phoenix at WIN Jubilee Stadium in Sydney, Australia. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Sydney FC flyer Rhyan Grant says the Sky Blues face a possible catch-22 situation in Sunday's A-League semi-final as they try to avoid getting stung by Melbourne Victory's deadly counter attacks.

Right back Grant and his left-sided counterpart Michael Zullo provide much of the width for the Sky Blues, often advancing deep into their opponents half, leaving Sydney potentially open to the break.

"It's sort of a catch 22 for us. We like to get forward and our attacking patterns include our fullbacks getting quite high and that sort of opens us up to the counter attacks with (Victory's Kosta) Barbarouses and (others) out wide," Grant said.

"We will have to be cautious of their players staying behind play and ready to roll, so we have to be awake to that.

"But at the same time, we're just going to play our game and try and get forward and score as many goals as possible."

Socceroo defender Grant is right to go for Sunday after not travelling to South Korea for last Tuesday's Asian Champions League game due to a hamstring issue.

He trained in Australia and said a fitness test on Tuesday went well and his two-week rest had helped after playing six games in the three previous weeks.

"It would have been nice to go to Korea, but in hindsight having that little rest and getting the hammy right was quite good, " Grant said.

"It was a pretty choc-a-block schedule there for a while so to get a bit of rest in the legs is only going to benefit me, I think, and I'm looking forward to feeling fresh on the weekend."

Grant said Sydney were used to backing up a few days after playing in Asia, though they lost their first game back home after each of their two earlier Champions League away matches.

"Everyone who played (last Tuesday) is fit and ready to go and there's been no injuries,' Grant said.

"There's obviously a little bit of jet lag there and the boys are quite knackered, but we've got a couple of days to recover before the big game on Sunday, so it should be sweet."

Victory have won two and Sydney one of their three fixtures this season since Melbourne triumphed over the Sky Blues in last year's epic semi-final

"We've got a few new players that weren''t even aware of that game so it's definitely not a game of revenge, it's just more of a must-win game," Grant said.

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