A maiden Sydney FC goal marks a turning point for Shellharbour junior King

That was until the 23-year-old netted after coming off the bench in Sydney FC's 2-0 win against defending grand final champions the Mariners. It was King's first goal since making his first team debut in the 2018/19 season.

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"Obviously I've played a fair few games now and I've been getting a bit of stick for not scoring," King said.

"So to finally score, I was very happy and hopefully it's a sign of more goals to come. It was a good moment to celebrate in front of the Cove (Sydney's active support group) and my family were pretty close to there as well. It was a very special moment."

But more than just the goal, the strike against the Central Coast marked his return to the Sydney FC side after a torrid run of injuries.

Injuries, as well as the form of Jordan Courtney-Perkins at left-back has kept King out of Ufuk Talay's starting 11 as the Sky Blues prepare for a deep finals run. It's something that the fringe Socceroo is aware of, but not something that concerns him too deeply.

"Injuries don't help, being out six to seven weeks at a time is very difficult," he said.

"It gives other players opportunities and if other players are doing well when they get the opportunity, then it's hard to get back in. But I think it's good for the team. It's good competition.

"I'm happy for 'Jordy', he is one of my best mates in the team and he's doing very well. So at the moment, I can't really complain sitting on the bench. But of course I want to be back out there starting."

King was part of one of the most dominant teams in the history of the A-League Men's under former mentor Steve Corica.

His stunning form after a rookie saw him make his Socceroos debut in World Cup qualifying, whilst also gaining selection for the 2022 tournament in Qatar where Australia were knocked out by eventual champions Argentina in the round of 16.

King signed overseas for Danish club Odense Boldklub, where he fell out of favour after initially playing quite frequently in the early days of the move.

He returned back to Sydney FC on loan, before inking a brand new contract with the club for the 2023/24 campaign.

Injuries have derailed any consistent form for the defender, however a late call-up to the Socceroos recent World Cup qualifying squad against Lebanon showed that he is still very much in the mind of coach Graham Arnold.

"It's always good for the confidence that he brings me into the Socceroos," King said.

"He obviously knows that I haven't had the best season with injuries and whatnot. He's very good like that. He knows when players are down and if he can help, he does.

"I think that opportunity arose because there were a few players missing, so I was grateful that he called me up into camp. I always love going into camp. So it gave me a little bit of confidence."

After starting the season extremely poorly, Sydney FC are one of the form teams in the competition.

With five games left to play, the team can still mathematically make a run for a top two finish, which would give them a week off and a home final match post-regular season.

Having only lost the once in their last 10 games, King said he believed no other team would want to face Sydney in the finals.

"I think we're all quietly confident that we can beat any team in the league," he said.

"I think every team in the league will be scared to come up against us. If we turn up on the day, we can beat any team."

Sydney will face Perth away in a midweek fixture (Wednesday, April 3) before another away game against Newcastle on Sunday, April 7.

They will round out their season with games against Western Sydney, Macarthur, and Perth again, before finals, should they qualify.