Nizic ready to protect Sydney United 58 for huge 2023 season

Danijel Nizic had a season to remember with Sydney United 58 in 2022, but he’s hoping for bigger and better things in 2023.

The United shot-stopper played a crucial role in his side’s fairytale run to the Australia Cup final, a footballing achievement that remains a source of immense pride for the club and its players.

“As a squad, it was an amazing run,” he said.

“The boys are super proud of the achievement, and it’ll be a highlight for many of us.”

The challenge in 2023 is to ensure that they match their cup intensity in their league games.

“We know we didn’t do as well as we perhaps should have in the league last year, even though we had that amazing cup run,” he said.

“So that’s something we want to fix up this season, but with this new format, I think it’s going to make the league even tougher. The whole standard and the intensity is going to lift because there’s no room for mistakes.”

With the 2023 champions set to be crowned by finishing the league campaign in the first place, Nizic said Sydney United would hope to use their Cup prowess as inspiration in the league.

“It’s a bit like a Cup in some ways now,” he said.

“Every single point is valuable. You have to start strong and you have to maintain that because if you’re serious about winning the league, you really can’t afford to lose more than two or three games.”

United kick-off their season at home when they welcome their fellow former NSL heavyweights Marconi Stallions to Edensor Park.

“We’ve kept the majority of the squad and we’ve added four or five quality players,” he said.

“It’s a good test for us to start with Marconi. It’s at our place so we know we’ll have good support and good numbers to cheer us on.”

Nizic said he hoped he and his defensive line could play their part in helping United to achieve the ultimate triumph in 2023.

“As a keeper, I think for me and the defenders, we want those clean sheets this year as a personal goal,” he said.

“And if we do that, hopefully, the team can achieve its goal of being up there by the time we get to Round 30.”