Almost three weeks have passed since Sydney FC were easily beaten at Melbourne City but the 3-1 defeat still stings, according to goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe.
Ex-Sydney FC star Jasmyne Spencer bagged a hat-trick for City in that win, a result that brought the Sky Blues back down to earth with a thud following a 3-0 win over rivals Western Sydney Wanderers in Round 1 of the Westfield W-League 2018/19 Season.
An international break and a bye followed for Sydney, meaning Bledsoe and her teammates have been stewing over the loss for an extended period.
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And the shot-stopper said Sydney are using it as motivation ahead of Sunday’s ‘Big Blue’ clash against Melbourne Victory.
“That one definitely was disappointing,” Bledsoe told reporters on Thursday.
“The whole team, no one played up to our abilities, so that was just disappointing, especially since we lost to them last year in the Grand Final.
“That hurt but we’ll get them back, hopefully when it counts.
“We’re just trying to learn from that and build off that and focus on the Victory this weekend.”
Boosting spirits at Sydney FC was a hat-trick to forward Caitlin Foord during the international break, with the Westfield Matildas star bagging a treble in a 5-0 win over Chile in Newcastle.
In typically American fashion, Bledsoe said her teammate was “rollin'” and that a team night out to watch her perform lifted the mood.
“It was fun,” she said.
“A lot of us went [to] watch that game, the Matildas, and saw her get that hat-trick, so [we're] excited to see her do it for Sydney FC now.”
