Fragogiannis prepares for battle against former club
Yianni Fragogiannis is looking to lead Sydney United 58 through a do-or-die clash with his former club Blacktown City FC on Wednesday night.
Miro Vlastelica’s outfit edged their way past a stubborn Marconi Stallions side on Saturday, triumphing 2-0 thanks to Patrick Antelmi’s brace in extra time.
They are now preparing for a midweek trip to Lily Holmes Stadium, where they will lock horns with Blacktown City in the Minor Semi Final.
Despite displaying hot-and-cold form throughout the regular season, Fragogiannis is quietly confident his side have what it takes to continue progressing on the road to the Grand Final at Bankwest Stadium on August 31st.
“We’ve had a pretty inconsistent season across the board, but we knew that if we get into the top five, anything after that is a different proposition,” the defender said.
“In the one-off games of finals football, we back ourselves to beat anyone in the competition.
“The game (vs Marconi) probably wasn’t our best performance but I think from the second half and extra time we deserved to win.”
Fragogiannis donned the captain armband on Saturday night, as a member of United 58’s new leadership group established since the mid-season departure of club captain Nick Stavroulakis to APIA Leichhardt.
The defender will line up against a familiar foe on Wednesday night, having made the move from Blacktown to United 58 himself back in 2016.
“I’m a senior player as a part of the Sydney United set-up now,” Fragogiannis said.
“Since the departure of Nick Stavroulakis, the responsibility has been shared by a few of the boys, and I think that’s a good thing.“We are all trying to push on the younger boys and lead by example both on and off the field.
“I had three good years under Critto and only have good things to say about the job that he has done.
“It goes to show this season that everyone wrote them off and they still managed to finish in the top three.
“But we definitely back ourselves to beat anyone on any given day, and that will be the focus come Wednesday night.”
By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Reporter Chris Curulli (Twitter handle @ChrisCurulli)
