PGFC Academy First Team Head Coach John Walmsley believes that his young charges are relishing the prospect of heading down to Albany for Saturday’s annual NPL WA Regional Round clash with Sorrento FC (kick-off at Retravision Stadium at 4pm).
Glory will be out to bounce back from last weekend’s 3-0 defeat against Stirling Macedonia at the expense of Steven McGarry’s Gulls who have now won only once in their last five games having made a strong start to the campaign.
And Walmsley feels that the trip south provides a great opportunity for his squad at a number of different levels.
“We’re really looking forward to it, especially from a team-building perspective,” he said.
“This will give us a good opportunity to bond on the way down, eat together and do things in the evening.
“So we’re looking forward to the things that it will bring not only on the pitch, but off it as well for us as a collective.
“Sorrento will give us another good test.
“The league is so tight that any team can beat anyone on the day.
“Bayswater are at the top, but then on the first day of the season, Sorrento beat them 4-1.
“We know they’ve got some good players, like Gustavo [Giron Maralunda] up front who will score if you give him half a chance, so it’s going to be a tough test for us and we need to be on top form to make sure we get the result we want out of the game.”
Glory are set to field a much-changed side this weekend, with six Academy players set to depart for Joeys duty on Friday, but Walmsley is backing their replacements to make an impression and maintain the attacking verve the First Team has shown this term.
“It’ll change the squad quite a bit,” he said, “but in football there’s always an opportunity around the corner, so it’s a good chance for the lads who have not been playing to prove something and earn a place in the side.
“If there are Glory fans in and around Albany, we’d love them to come along and hopefully we can put on an entertaining performance for them.
“These types of things are great as they give people access to another level of football that they might not get any other week.
“So hopefully we can do the job on the day to ensure that next time, there’s talk about how good it was the year before and there’ll be more interest in years to come.”
(picture courtesy of Tom McCarthy)
#ONEGlory
