Glory’s Sam Kerr is Sydney FC’s big problem for W-League final

When it comes to stopping Sam Kerr, Sydney FC coach Ante Juric admits it may be mission impossible for his team.

Perth Glory striker Sam Kerr celebrates her third goal against Melbourne Victory in their W-League semi-final at AAMI Park on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

When it comes to stopping Sam Kerr, Sydney FC coach Ante Juric admits it may be mission impossible for his team.

The superstar Matilda fired Perth Glory into the W-League grand final with a sensational hat-trick in a 4-2 extra-time win over premiers Melbourne Victory.

Kerr will now face Sydney FC for the championship after the Sky Blues won through to their second-consecutive grand final with a 2-1 semi-final win on the road against Brisbane.

Sydney will host the grand final at Jubilee Stadium on Saturday after FFA confirmed today that the decider will be held at the Kogarah venue at 4.30pm (AEDT)

Juric said playing at home was more of a reward for the team’s fans than anything else.

“We’re not fussed where we go. It’s nice to be there,” Juric said. “We were hoping to get the premiership and then earn it that way but the way the cards have fallen we’ve got a home final.

“But it’s more for the fans, I think it’s great for them to be able to see us on home turf rather than going somewhere else.”

Juric’s biggest concern this week is working out how to stop Kerr.

The 25-year-old’s treble against Victory means she now has 16 goals for the W-League season, including two against her former club in a 2-1 win over Sydney FC in December.

“We’ll get a plan in there, if it’s trying to stop her with two people or trying to stop the service to her maybe, I don’t know,” Juric said when asked how he planned to deal with Kerr.

“You know what? She’s hard to stop, probably impossible, so we’ll just try to score more goals than she does.”

The Sky Blues will be seeking to make amends following last year’s 2-0 grand final defeat to Melbourne City and have a red-hot Matildas striker of their own to pose a threat in front of goal.

Caitlin Foord’s strike against Brisbane in the semi-final was her 10th of the season — and sixth against the Roar alone in 2018-19.

After missing out on last year’s grand final due to a foot injury, the 24-year-old is clearly as determined as anyone at Sydney FC to set the record straight.

“Sitting out last year was never fun so I was never going to let us lose,” Foord said.

“We’ll focus on ourselves this week and we still have a lot of potential.

“If we are at our best, we can beat anyone.”

Another forward set to play a role in the grand final is the experienced Lisa De Vanna.

The 34-year-old missed the trip to Brisbane with a bruised knee but Juric is expecting the Matildas veteran to be back on the pitch against the Glory.

“The last session before we came here she went off the session so we didn’t take her and I actually told her ‘we’re getting a grand final so make sure you’re ready to play in that one’,” Juric said.

AAP