Sydney FC head coach Steve Corica will sweat on the fitness of Joe Lolley ahead of Saturday night’s Sydney Derby Elimination Final, confirming the star winger is set for scans to determine the severity of a hamstring complaint.
The Sky Blues head into the finals high confidence after beating Newcastle 2-0 to go five games unbeaten. Sydney should regain Robert Mak (hamstring tightness) and Jack Rodwell (concussion) but must wait to confirm the injury status of Lolley, who limped off late in the Jets victory.
“Joe, we’ll send him for scans tomorrow, he’s felt his hamstring,” Corica told reporters.
“He’s got pretty good strength so we’ll just have to wait and see.
“But Robbie Mak will be fine next week … and now we’ve got Joe on the other hand, so we’ll see how he goes.”
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Fifth-placed Sydney will face the fourth-placed Wanderers in a sudden-death final, at CommBank Stadium next Saturday night.
“That’s three wins in a row, two clean sheets, unbeaten in five. So it’s coming along nicely – right time of the season,” Corica told reporters.
“Obviously the derby next week is a special game and to have it in a final, first time, so it’s going to be exciting and hopefully a very good match.
“It’s going to be a massive game for us next week. We know what we’re up against. And there’s a reminder of the last game as well what they did to us (a 4-0 defeat).
“So we have to respond to that and make sure we’re ready and it’s a finals game. So you have to play your best if you want to get through.”
Youngster Jaiden Kucharski was sent off in the 90th minute after receiving two yellow cards in the space of five minutes and just seven minutes after entering the fray, ruling him out of the elimination final.
“He was actually distraught in the change room. So I haven’t properly spoken to him but sometimes that happens,” Corica said.
“He’ll learn from that.”
Adam Le Fondre drew first blood with his fourth goal in four games in the 30th minute, with Newcastle goalkeeper Jack Duncan fumbling the striker’s shot over the line at Allianz Stadium.
Young striker Patrick Wood fired home a second in the 64th minute but Duncan saved Max Burgess’ 76th-minute penalty.
Jets coach Arthur Papas described the first goal as a “clear error” from Duncan and believed Wood had fouled Phillip Cancar in the lead-up to the second.
But he praised his charges’ willingness to fight out the game.
“I’ve got to credit my players to be honest, because it’s 2-0, they know we’re not going to be playing finals and ultimately, they still keep working, pushing to the last minute,” he said.
“So I praise them for that because they’ve been doing that all season.
“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs but they’ve never given up. So I’m proud of them for that.
“I’m proud of the progress they’ve made and ultimately we’ll still be disappointed come the end of it.”
Jets defender Mark Natta was forced off with a knee injury in the 66th minute.
