Sydney FC W-League winning coach, Ante Juric believes that everything fell into place at the right time which led to their eventual Grand Final victory.
Juric’s side defeated Perth Glory 4-2 on Saturday evening and the Sky Blues head coach insists he was very confident that they could defeat their opponents, from the west, after their stirring semi-final win over Brisbane.
“I had this feeling after the Brisbane game that we would win,” Juric said on Evenings on FNR.
“I have always been positive and had high beliefs,
“Everything was starting to fall into place, the girls were confident and focused,
“It was a great game, a great night and the girls celebrated well.”
Juric also spoke about how the spectacular goals against the Glory were no surprise – something he had seen week-in-week-out.
“We do a lot of shooting and all four-five goals were reminiscent of what we do at the back end of training,” Juric said.
“I am not surprised by the goals and the quality of them but come finals and big games you hope that happens.”
The 45-year-old also detailed how his defence was able to curb the influence of Perth’s dynamic partnership of Sam Kerr and Rachel Hill which had torn through many defences this season.
In particular, Juric was full of praise for Alanna Kennedy and Elizabeth Ralston who held the fort together against the Glory’s attacking duo.
“We tried to drop off as soon as they won the ball so nothing over the top would catch us,” Juric said.
“We did that well and we had Teresa locking the lines for Sam, so it was about stopping as much service to Sam as possible.”
Sydney FC had started the season quite poorly and only won one of their opening four games before they found their groove in the middle of the season.
Juric, in particular labelled the return of key players from international duty and other disruptions was key for his side to rally late on in the season.
“We try not to get disappointed from the losses as we don’t get overly excited from the wins,” Juric said.
“We had a bye early on, we didn’t have players week one, we had the international week,
“You don’t win championships in the first week, you win them at the end so we focused on staying strong, working hard and eventually it all gelled and we came good.”
