As her Sydney FC teammates were flying on all cylinders during last season’s Westfield W-League Grand Final, Amy Sayer was stuck in the stands with her foot in a boot.
A serious injury forced the teenager to miss the majority of the Sky Blues’ 2018/19 Season, which culminated in a 4-2 Grand Final with over Perth Glory.
Fast forward almost 12 months and Sydney FC and Glory do battle again in a match that can all-but secure a top-two spot for Ante Juric’s side.
And this time Sayer is set to play a far greater role on the pitch, than as a cheerleader off it in last season’s decider.
“I missed the Grand Final last year, I was sitting in the stands with a boot and crutches, so to actually be playing this time will be really fantastic,” Sayer said on Sydney FC’s official website.
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“Being out for 5 months, any game I take and treasure a lot more now because I was out of the game and missing what I love for so long.
“I’ve been feeling really great. Ante has been amazing, and Sydney FC have definitely stepped up on the women’s side this year.
“Everyone feels it, I’m probably 2000% fitter, feeling great and training really good.”
Ahead of Saturday’s clash at WIN Stadium in Wollongong, Sayer has so far featured six times for the Sky Blues this season.
Check out the pick of @jamcas50's shots from our @WLeague #SydneyDerby win on Saturday at Cromer Park!
📸 – https://t.co/ZUWzcGa855 #SydneyIsSkyBlue #WeAreChampions pic.twitter.com/uVIelLu8HZ
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) February 16, 2020
But with the likes of Chloe Logarzo and Caitlin Foord having left the club for Europe, the 18-year could play a significant role for the remainder of 2019/20.
While Sydney will be expected to be too strong for a Glory side out of finals contention, they are wary of a side that has won their last two games and scored eight goals.
“Perth are missing Sam Kerr obviously so they’ll be different in attack, but the biggest mistake would be to underestimate them,” Sayer said.
“They beat Brisbane 4-2 at the weekend while we drew with Brisbane so they’ll be a really big challenge,” Sayer said.
“We can’t drop our focus, we have to be completely ruthless and focused on making the Finals.
“I was really happy to be able to be back in the starting line-up [in the 3-0 win over the Wanderers on Saturday],” she added.
“It’s a massive thing especially at the back end of the season. We got a win by a massive margin against our hometown rivals so that was such a great feeling and to get revenge over the Wanderers was also really good.”
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Sydney FC v Perth Glory
Saturday, 22 February 2020
WIN Stadium
Kick-off: 4pm AEDT
