Sydney FC kicked off preparations for Sunday’s Hyundai A-League grand final with a sharp, hour-long session on Tuesday morning at their Macquarie University base.
Almost 50 fans were on hand to watch the Sky Blues go through their paces.
Skipper Alex Brosque was the only player who took no part at all in the session, resting up after feeling tightness following his two-goal performance against Adelaide United on Saturday night.
MATCH REPORT: Sydney FC v Adelaide United
Jacques Faty, Mickael Tavares and Terry Antonis were the only other players who only undertook abbreviated parts of the session as they ease into the biggest week of the season.
The rest of the squad were involved with the club’s strength and conditioning coach Andrew Clark taking much of the session.
It started with a warm-up of three laps of the pitch before some dynamic stretching.
After the warm-up first-team ‘keepers Vedran Janjetovic and Ivan Necevski moved into their part of the pitch to commence their specialist training with coach Zeljko Kalac.
They worked on everything from their distribution, to hurdling over cones before having to make two quick saves.
It was all designed at sharpening their reflexes.
The main group started off with a drill designed for them to get a feel of the ball, 6 v 2 games trying to keep possession of the two defenders.
“One touch, move it quick, don’t be static,” were the words of encouragement from Clark.
All players looked relaxed and comfortable on the ball, showing no sign of any pre-decider nerves.
After a quick drinks break they switched into a 4 v 2 situations, designed to increase the intensity and touches on the ball.
It soon moved into a 7 v 7 game with goals in an intense and competitive environment.
Each goal was cheered like it was in a big game, with no player was shirking a challenge.
After 30 minutes of that game the session came to a close with a gentle warm-down and series of stretches for all players.
It’s the first step in what the club will hope is a very special week.
