Wollongong Wolves captain Justin Pasfield has declared his side will not carry any mental scars into Saturday's sudden-death final against Sydney United 58.
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The Wolves have just two days to recover from Wednesday night's shock loss to APIA Leichhardt, however Pasfield said the short turnaround will work in his team's favour.
With little time to dwell on the defeat, the goalkeeper is confident Wollongong will immediately rebound in the clash at WIN Stadium.
"We were very disappointed," Pasfield said.
"It was a tough game for us. But it's a short turn around, we don't have time to think about and worry about what happened on Wednesday night.
"I stressed to the boys after the game, we need to wipe that completely and concentrate on what we have to do on Saturday.
"We've got strong character within the team, we've based our whole year around that team culture. It has played a big role in what we're trying to achieve, we're a tight group and it will help us moving forward."
Saturday's match will be a tricky task for the Wolves, with Sydney United riding high after securing two sudden-death extra-time victories in the past week and Wollongong reeling from the loss to APIA Leichhardt.
Additionally, Sydney United are the lone club Wollongong did not defeat this season, the two sides playing out a 2-2 draw in round three, before United stunned the Wolves 2-1 at WIN Stadium in the return fixture.
Having played for Sydney United 58 in 2015, Pasfield is familiar with the determination possessed by his former club and he said the Wolves will have to be on their game to claim a victory on Saturday.
"Sydney United are a big club, they've been around a long time and they're a very passionate club with very passionate supporters.
"I played for them previously, I know what the club is about, they play with their heart on their sleeve and I expect nothing less on Saturday.
"We'll have a game plan in place, we'll make sure we're fully prepared and we'll do our homework. We'll go about our business as usual and tweak a couple of things that we need to do against Sydney United."
The 34-year-old acknowledged the Wolves were not at their best on Wednesday night, with Pasfield lamenting the large number of turnovers his side committed.
It may have taken 81 minutes, but ultimately APIA Leichhardt made the Wolves pay and Pasfield knows Sydney United 58 will do the same if the Wolves do not eliminate the turnovers this weekend.
"We have to be more consistent, we gave away way too much ball.
"It was uncharacteristic from us, which made it a tough pill to swallow, so going into Saturday, we need to make sure we're on our game and make sure we keep possession of the ball.
"We'll bounce back, we've got a young team with some strong heads and a few older players to lead the team and make sure we're fully focused and ready to go."
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
