One month into pre-season, Sydney FC Westfield W-League Head Coach Dan Barrett said his squad are itching to hit the pitch in their first hit out on Friday night at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
The Sky Blues Ladies face the Illawarra Stingrays in the South Coast Football Challenge curtain raiser (kick off 5:15pm) and Barrett said he’s hoping to gauge where his squad is at ahead of the 2015/16 campaign in what he expects to be a challenging encounter.
“Pre-season has been productive and positive,” Barrett said.
“The majority of the group are together now and the girls have been working hard and have been focused.
“The squad is looking good and very much looking forward to their first hit out as a group leading into this season.
“We will just be assessing the things we have been working on in training this Friday night,” he continued.
“It’s also an opportunity to have a look at some of our younger squad members and I except a tough encounter, which is what this team needs at this stage of their preparation.
“For us it’s a platform to put into practice the things we have been working on both with and without the ball against an opponent who will not make it easy.”
At this early stage of pre-season Barrett said his main focus has been on transition as he said Friday’s clash provides the perfect base to build from ahead of kick off for round one on 18 October.
“We’re just making sure we have a sensible approach to how we play either in possession or without,” Barrett said.
“We’ll be building everyone’s understanding of their roles and this will continue to improve as the pre-season rolls on.
“The players need minutes and an opportunity to play together [on Friday night]. For me and my staff I am hoping to get a clearer indication of where we are, what we can do and what we need to do better.”
Sydney FC’s Westfield W-League squad take on the Illawarra Stingrays in the curtain raiser of the South Coast Football Challenge on Friday 18 September at WIN Stadium, Wollongong (kick off 5:15pm). Follow @SydneyFC for match updates.
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