Round 27 Preview: Sydney FC v Perth Glory
Terry McFlynn. Jacob Burns. Two polarising players whom are set to be farewelled this Sunday. Terry McFlynn, a much maligned Sydney FC defensive midfielder will hang his boots up after 9 years in Sky Blue. Jacob Burns, an Australian journeyman, wraps up his 5 year stint at Perth Glory.
Terry has been through it all in his stint, he’s won championships, he’s flattered to deceive, he’s been cheered and he’s been booed. Jacob Burns has been booed, booed some more, cheered sometimes and has bruised all comers.
Unfortunately McFlynn will not be taking apart in this affair, meaning fans miss out on the colossal contest of McFlynn vs. Burns, where no shin pads were to be left untouched, no long balls not explored and no penetrative passes were to be made. Whichever way you look at it, both men will be remembered as players whom left nothing on the pitch and will go down as A-League legends for their own respective reasons.
Sydney hosted an ever tumbling Wellington side last week at an almost underwater Allianz Stadium. The conditions did wonders for the Sky Blues, with the club finally finding the perfect conditions for Farinaball. Alessandro Del Piero enjoyed his finest performance in 12 months in Sky Blue, with the heavy rainfall slowing down all players to the 39 year old’s pace.
The Italian converted his own penalty and put away his 3rd Free kick goal at Allianz. Can God provide the perfect conditions for another Del Piero master class this Sunday, or should Sydney FC be manufacturing their own slip and slide with a fire hose and some No Frills Detergent? Either way, Del Piero will most likely be enjoying his final home game in Sky Blue this Sunday and will be looking to leaving the fans purring.
Perth head into this encounter in a rare patch of form, winning their last two games on the trot and hammering Central Coast Mariners last Sunday at NIB Stadium.
Perth were impressive in the 3-1 win, and will be looking to take the confidence from that affair into their clash this Sunday. You will find no Lowe puns here, as Perth look to this encounter to ensure they don’t finish with the club’s first A-League Wooden Spoon.
Perth will be potentially farewelling half of their squad this Sunday, and no doubt the players are looking to go out with a bang or put themselves in the shop window. Sydney’s performance will be shaped by the previous fixtures of the weekend, Glory will be looking to capitalise on this and take all 3 points back to Perth.
Form Guide
Played: 28. Sydney: 13. Draw: 8. Perth: 7.
Absentee List
Sydney: Rhyan Grant, Pedj Bojic, Terry McFlynn (injured).
Perth: Josh Risdon, Travis Dodd, Scott Jamieson, Shane Smeltz (injured).
Possible XI
Sydney: Janjetovic; Ryall, Petkovic, Ognenovski, Jurman; Dimitrijevic, Abbas, Antonis; Chianese, Del Piero, Garcia
Perth: Duncan; Clisby, Gallas, Thwaite, O’Neill; Burns, Griffiths, McGarry; Marinkovic, Harold, Sidnei
Eyes On…
Alessandro Del Piero. This may be ‘same old, same old’, but Del Piero will play what is likely to be his last home game for Sydney on Sunday. He finally made a large impact on a game last week. ADP will be brimming with confidence, and will be looking to the likes of Burns, Gallas and Griffiths as an avenue to some cheap free kicks. Del Piero looks injury free for the first time this season and will be looking to make Perth pay for any defensive lapses or losses of concentration.
Jacob Burns. Not much needs to be said about Burns, in his final encounter look for Burns to try stomp his name onto this game, as well as on Sydney FC’s midfielders. Burns will be going all out to get involved in his farewell, expect some no nonsense challenges and the usual counter attacking breaking up antics.
Prediction
This game could go either way; the outlook of the affair will be determined by all preceding games this weekend. If Sydney head into this match up with no chance of finishing anywhere bar 6th, expect a few changes and for Farina to rest some players. If not, Sydney will be going hammer and tong for all 3 points, such is the farce of the final weekend draw in the A-league. Either way, I expect Sydney FC to win, the boys from the harbour city have started to play some decent football and should take all 3 points here. 2-1 to Sydney.
Terry McFlynn is the only player to play all seasons of the A-League with one club. There are still 29 other season 1 players in the competition.
Ali Abbas, Vedran Janjetovic and Nikola Petkovic have played every minute this season for Sydney.
The last time Perth won 3 games in a row was in their finals run in 2011/2012.
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