Canberra United are back in Foxtel Y-League action this weekend as they face Sydney FC at Lambert Park on Friday night.
The side had the Christmas weekend off after falling 6-3 to the Wanderers the week before, and this will be the first time this season that United and Sydney FC have faced off.
The Sky Blues are the only side United are yet to face in their group and sit fourth in the Group B standings, just four points and one spot ahead of United.
Earlier this week, Head Coach Ryan Grogan said that despite not facing Sydney yet, they are far from an unknown quantity.
“We are confident going into the match,” he said.
“Obviously up to now there is a lot of footage of the other teams going around, so we have identified a few bits and pieces where we think we can find success.”
“The focus has been on delivering that game plan to the boys, making sure in training that they can execute the plan the way that we want.”
In the most recent outing against the Wanderers United won the second half, scoring three goals after heading into half-time down 4-0, and Grogan said that cutting out early errors and encouraging the team to be direct were top of the list ahead of this week’s clash.
“The issue really has been concentration in the backline and we keep leaking preventable goals,” he said.
“So it’s about instilling responsibility on the back five including the keeper, and making sure they communicate and they are following their roles and responsibilities so that we don’t concede through sloppy errors or miscommunication between ourselves.”
“In the first half against the Wanderers we were hesitant to go forward, and just looked to take the safe option, playing sideways or backwards. But we said at half time we needed to be a bit more direct, and that once we get players in the right areas then the right ball just needs to be delivered for us to move forward.”
Grogan and Marcial Munoz will be forced into another change this weekend, with Nick Faust set to miss the clash due to a stress injury in his leg.
The side is already without talented winger Daniel Fabrizio after he tore his ACL against the Mariners, meaning the coaching staff will be doing some reshuffling for Friday night’s clash.
Match Details |
Foxtel Youth League Round 6 | Friday 29th December
Sydney FC v Canberra United
Lambert Park, Sydney – 6:30pm Kickoff
