Sky Blues on the cusp of earning record-breaking Premiers’ Plate

Just one point stands in the way of Sydney FC winning a record-breaking fourth Hyundai A-League Premiers’ Plate, an honour the Sky Blues can achieve at a stroll when they face Newcastle Jets on Tuesday night.

A draw or win will ensure Steve Corica’s side are out of sight of Wellington Phoenix, the only other side still capable of catching the Sky Blues, to clinch their fourth Premiers’ Plate with four games to spare in the 2019/20 Hyundai A-League season.

Silverware will mean all that more to Sydney FC this season as they have the chance to pull ahead of rivals Melbourne Victory in the categories of most Hyundai A-League Premierships, Championships and total trophies won throughout the league’s history.

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Both Victory and the Sky Blues are currently tied on three Premierships, four Championships and one FFA Cup apiece, meaning Sydney will become the only Hyundai A-League side to have won the Premiers’ Plate four times should they secure a point against the Jets at Nestrata Jubilee Stadium on Tuesday night.

It will be the second piece of silverware for Steve Corica in just his second season as Head Coach of Sydney FC, after overcoming red-hot favourites and reining Premiers Perth Glory to clinch the 2018/19 Hyundai A-League Championship with the club he won two Championships and one Premiership with as a player.

For Corica, the opportunity to wrap up the Premiers’ Plate at home against Newcastle is a chance he’s desperate for his side to take.

“We’ve got a fantastic record at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium and I think it would be ideal to be able to lift the trophy at our home ground and in front of our Members, if we can get the required result,” Corica told the club website.

“We are not there yet but we are confident we can wrap up the title on Tuesday night and the boys can enjoy it with a couple of days off, before our next game ten days later.

“We still have our own targets to hit this season however, so the hard work doesn’t stop.

“We want to achieve those and ensure we are accelerating into the Finals Series.”

The result will be of increased significance to Sky Blues forward Kosta Barbarouses, who will become the first player to win the Premiers’ Plate at three different Hyundai A-League clubs (Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC) should Sydney complete their Premiership objective.

“To win it at three different clubs would be great,” Barbarouses said.

“More so having to join different teams at different times, and to adapt and to be successful with them, I think it’s something to be really proud of for myself.

“Premierships are great because it just shows you’ve been the best team over the course of the season.

“In the finals everything can happen but over the course of 26 or 27 rounds as it has been in the past, more often than not it shows the best team over the year, so to win it with Sydney would be great as well.”