Sydney FC skipper Terry McFlynn admits last month’s 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Newcastle was the catalyst for his side’s late-season revival.
Sydney FC skipper Terry McFlynn admits last month’s 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Newcastle was the catalyst for his side’s late-season revival.
The two sides will collide again in Sunday’s winner-takes-all final round encounter at Allianz Stadium, with the Sky Blues needing a win to seal a finals berth, while the Jets will seal sixth spot with a draw.
In the six games since their Week 18 trouncing at the hands of the Jets, Vitezslav Lavicka’s men have found form with three wins and two draws, and enter this weekend’s must-win clash feeling quietly confident.
“That was a result that hurt us a lot … so we analysed the performance a lot and we looked at what went wrong on that night,” McFlynn said.
“And you’ve seen in recent performances that we’ve rectified a lot of those wrongs so we’re very much looking forward to the game on Sunday.”
The captain also believes the fact his side must win the match to keep their season alive will aid their cause but remains wary of the unpredictable Jets.
“History has shown this season that when we are behind with our back against the wall we’ve stood up and played better,” he said.
“We’ve done that numerous times and we have to win so effectively we’re starting this week behind.”
“They’re very versatile in their adaptability to different formations, they played a 3-4-3 against us last time and they’ve been playing 4-4-2 recently so that’s shows the versatility they’ve got as a group of players but I think we just have to focus on what we can do.”
“We’ve said all along that if we look after the things that we can control then our destiny will be in our own hands come the end of the season and that’s the way it’s panned out.”
Meanwhile, McFlynn says sending coach Lavicka out on a winning note remains a priority ahead of what will most likely be the mentor’s last game in charge at Allianz Stadium
The Sky Blues will pay tribute to out-going Premiership-winning coach before the match.
The Sydney siders would have to finish fifth and have both the fifth and sixth-placed teams win in the first week of the Hyundai A-League finals to have another home game this season.
Lavicka joined Sydney FC before the 2009/10 season, steering the club to its first ever Championship/Premiership double that season.
“As we said when the announcement was made, ‘the boss is a gentleman and we want to send him out a winner’, and that theme’s continued since throughout the season,” McFlynn said.
“And certainly this will be his last game here at Allianz (Stadium) but we want to go as far as we can in the finals as well.”
