Apostolos Stamatelopoulos is hoping Saturday’s Big Blue Elimination Final showdown with Melbourne Victory will be the game where the Sky Blues attack finally clicks.
Sydney FC head into Saturday’s blockbuster clash AAMI Park after missing out on the chance to host an Elimination Final having twice thrown away a lead against Auckland FC on the final day of the season.
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Despite that frustrating result the Sky Blues head to Melbourne on a four-game unbeaten streak following the arrival of Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo, who is set to face his old side for the first time since leaving them back in 2024.
One of several players in a race against time to be fit for the game, Stamatelopoulos has been listed in the Sky Blues’ extended squad for the match and provided a further injury update when speaking on Thursday morning.
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“I’m feeling good,” said the Socceroo, who missed out on the Round 26 clash with Auckland due to a calf injury.
“I got kilometres in the legs this week, so we’ll see how we go. I’m pretty hopeful, but you never know. So we’ll see.
He added: “Still a few boxes to tick (sprinting) That’s it, really. Once I tick that off, then we’ll see how we go.”
The international forward arrived in the Harbour City in January on loan from Scottish Premiership side Motherwell to much fanfare.
However, whilst the 27-year-old has managed to find the back of the net just twice in 10 games for his new club he firmly believes it’s only a matter of time before things click from him in the final third, and there’s no better time for that to happen than this weekend.
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“I think my overall play has been decent. Obviously, I want to find the back of the net a bit more.
“Again, it just comes down to linking with my teammates well and getting service and then getting on the end of it.
“It’s always hard when you change managers and the style that you want to play, and then you kind of find it a little bit and then we changed.
“I feel like we’ve gelled really well under the way that PK wants to play. And yeah, I think the last couple games have shown that we can create a lot of chances.”
Key to that happening is midfield star Joe Lolley who has been named in the squad this weekend having missed the last six weeks due to an ankle injury.
“Yeah, I think we have been missing it (creativity) at times. Someone with that quality to deliver a final ball.
“We’ve gotten a lot better at it in the last couple of games. I think Auckland showed that, and (against) Wanderers as well showed that we have gotten better at it, and then having someone like him would just increase the volume of chances that we create.”
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