Victory star Antonis wants epic Semi Final repeat

Terry Antonis vividly remembers last season’s Big Blue Semi Final redemption act but the Melbourne Victory man will try and put it out of his mind in Sunday’s epic rematch with Sydney FC.

Antonis, 25, played the lead role in one of the most dramatic scenes in Hyundai A-League history in April 2018.

With Victory seconds away from securing a Grand Final berth, the former Sydney man inadvertently sliced Adrian Mierzejewski’s cutback into his own net in the dying embers to send the game into extra-time.

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The Bankstown-born midfielder was visibly distraught but composed himself and ultimately atoned for his error by scoring an incredible solo goal with just three minutes of extra time remaining.

“People bring it up a lot but it's a great memory to have,” said Antonis on Thursday.

"I think everyone has one of those moments in their lives where you just remember what happened [so clearly].

"But you have to move on from what happened and enjoy this weekend and go there with the same mentality.

"It was an awesome memory to have, and hopefully this weekend us as a team, we can do the same.”

Antonis, alongside the likes of Keisuke Honda, Ola Toivonen, Kosta Barbarouses and Georg Niedermeier, was rested during Victory’s 4-0 AFC Champions League loss to Daegu on Wednesday night.

In contrast, Sydney boss Steve Corica fielded a near-full strength side – with fullback Rhyan Grant the only notable absentee from the starting eleven – for their 1-0 ACL defeat to Ulsan Hyundai on Tuesday.

However, Antonis believes all the kilometres the two rivals have clocked up in transit from Australia to South Korea will matter for nothing on Sunday.

"You can look at Sydney, but it's a one-off game, anything can happen,” Antonis said.

“The boss picked us to stay behind and it's not like we have been here not doing anything.

“We have been here working hard preparing like we would for any other game on the weekend."

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