Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell will be forced to wait until match day to make a final decision on star striker Nikita Rukavytsya after the youngster was restricted to light duties because of calf soreness at the club’s final training session.
Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell will be forced to wait until match day to make a final decision on star striker Nikita Rukavytsya after the youngster was restricted to light duties because of calf soreness at the club-s final training session.
Rukavytsya has plundered eight goals this season and has been in wonderful touch recently with six goals coming in his past five games. Mitchell will give the 21 year old as much time as possible to prove his fitness for what could be a season defining match for Perth.
“There-s a good chance he-ll play but if he doesn-t pass a fitness test then he won-t,” Mitchell said.
“It-s come out of the blue and it-s unfortunate really but we have other players to come in and are looking for a chance,” said Mitchell.
If Rukavytsya doesn-t play then Argentinean attacking midfielder Adrian Trinidad could join Eugene Dadi or Jamie Harnwell up front with Nick Rizzo, Naum Sekulovski or Scott Bulloch all options on the left wing.
The table topping Victory will bring a well drilled squad to Members Equity Stadium for the Saturday night clash however Mitchell said Perth are looking forward to taking on the competition-s best and is confident a Glory win can inspire a late charge to the finals.
“They-re coming in fully loaded and it-s a challenge we-re relishing,” Mitchell said.
“If we beat Melbourne then we can say we-ve beaten the best team, they-re the best without doubt, and it-s a challenge for us, it really is. It-s one where if you get the win then we don-t fear anyone.
“We-re playing well enough and we just need to be more lethal,” Mitchell said.
Key defender David Tarka will spend another week with the youth squad as part of his recovery from a quad injury. Tarka looked solid during his 60 minutes with the Glory youth team last Saturday and is almost ready to make his return to Hyundai A-League action.
Perth Glory-s Youth Team will play in a curtain raiser against Melbourne – kick-off at 3.00pm.
HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE RD14
Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory
Saturday 6 December at Members Equity Stadium
Local kick off 6.00pm
Referee: Peter Green
To purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com.au
Match Radio Broadcast on 6PR 882am – click here to listen
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 1 and Sky Sport 3.
Perth Glory Squad: 30.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 1.Jason PETKOVIC (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 4.Jamie COYNE (c), 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Nick RIZZO, 9.Adrian TRINIDAD, 11.Scott BULLOCH, 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 14.Eugene DADI, 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17.James DOWNEY, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 21.Mark LEE, 22.Wayne SRHOJ, 25.Marc ANTHONY.
* two to be omitted.
In: 1.Jason PETKOVIC (promoted), 11.Scott BULLOCH (promoted), 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI (return from injury).
Out: 20.Frank JURIC (omitted).
Unavailable: Josip MAGDIC (ankle – season), James ROBINSON (abdomen – 4 weeks), Hayden FOXE (leg – 1 week), AMARAL (knee – 1 week).
Melbourne Victory Squad: 1.Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (Captain), 3.Michael THWAITE, 7.Matthew KEMP, 8.Grant BREBNER, 9.Danny ALLSOPP, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.NEY FABIANO, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 14.Billy CELESKI, 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 17.Jose LUIS LOPEZ, 19.Evan BERGER, 20.Mitchell LANGERAK (gk), 22.Nick WARD.
*One to be omitted.
In: Evan BERGER (return from injury).
Out: Nil.
Unavailable: Nil.
*Head-to-head match-up in Perth: Played 4: Perth Glory wins 2, Melbourne Victory wins 1 (1 draw)
