Yorke cleared for Sydney

Yorke has not played since injuring his groin in Trinidad and Tobago’s World Cup first-round matches in Germany in June. He was sidelined for the pre-season competition in Australia.

The 34-year-old Yorke was declared fit yesterday for Sunday’s grand final replay against Central Coast Mariners, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported. Sydney won the inaugural A-League title last season and are favoured again to win the eight-team competition.

Socceroos defender Stan Lazaridis will be lining up in defence for Perth Glory tomorrow against Queensland in Brisbane. The A-League is “a new challenge for me and exciting really, so (there’s) a bit of nerves I think first game, it’s going to be a huge expectation for us this season,” said Lazaridis, who ended a long stint in Europe by playing for Birmingham City last season. In other weekend matches, pre-season tournament champions Adelaide United play Melbourne Victory tonight and New Zealand host Newcastle Jets. (AP)