Sydney FC midfielder Stuart Musialik insists he has no interest in whether injured Melbourne Victory duo Archie Thompson and Robbie Kruse will make surprise returns for the second leg of the major semi-final at the SFS on Sunday.
Both Thompson (foot) and Kruse (ankle) trained with the Victory squad in Melbourne on Friday, with coach Ernie Merrick confirming both strikers will make the journey to Sydney ahead of the blockbuster clash.
While neither player is capable of playing a full 90 minutes, any game time they receive would be a massive bonus for the visitors given that Nik Mrdja is unavailable through suspension.
But Musialik is confident the Sky Blues, who trail 2-1 on aggregate heading into the deciding leg of the tie, can repeat the performance that saw them claim the Premiers Plate with a 2-0 win over their arch rivals on the final day of the regular season.
“We’re not really worried about who plays for them,” Musialik said.
“We’re going to focus on our own job and go out there and worry about what they’re doing, and it doesn’t really matter who they’ve got out.”
“We’re in pretty much the exact same situation that we were in to win the minor premiership.”
“That was three weeks ago but it’s just pretty much the same game re-enacted, so we need a 1-0 win (to advance to the grand-final) and we’re confident we can go out and do the job.”
Despite his confidence, Musialik admits star midfielder Carlos Hernandez is one player the Sky Blues won’t be taking lightly.
The crafty Costa Rican found the back of the net in the opening leg of the tie at Etihad Stadium but was below his best on his most recent outing at the SFS.
“Hopefully I can keep him quiet again on Sunday,” Musialik said of the Johnny Warren medallist.
“Whenever he’s involved Melbourne’s definitely a much stronger outfit when he gets on the ball and can orchestrate things for them, so hopefully we’ll be able to keep him quiet on the weekend.”
“He’s a very smart player and he likes to get himself into sneaky little holes off your shoulder and that sort of thing so it’s just about being smart and trying to be aware of where he is when more so when we’ve got the ball.”
Meanwhile, coach Vitezslav Lavicka admits his side was not as switched on as he would have liked them to be in the opening leg, but is quietly confident his charges can turn things around in front of a parochial Sydney crowd.
“I think we were physically good but maybe mentally it was difficult to switch on immediately a couple of days after we achieved the (Premiership),” Lavicka said of the last-start loss.
“But that’s football, we scored one goal and we lost the game but still we have a real chance to qualify (for the grand final).”
In injury news, Sydney defender Shannon Cole is in serious doubt for the clash with a hamstring injury suffered in the Socceroos’ 1-0 victory over Indonesia on Wednesday.
Former Victory player Sebastian Ryall is expected to start the match at right-back if Cole fails to complete the side’s final training session on Saturday.
