Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell will unleash his entire new international arsenal for the first time when the club meets reigning Hyundai A-League champions Newcastle at Members Equity Stadium on Friday night.
Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell will unleash his entire new international arsenal for the first time when the club meets reigning Hyundai A-League champions Newcastle at Members Equity Stadium on Friday night.
Argentine attacker Adrian Trinidad, who was sidelined for the club-s first outing of the season, has been in sparkling form on the training track this week and is expected to be injected straight into Glory-s starting eleven alongside former Brazilian international Amaral and Ivory Coast striker Dadi.
It is the first time Mitchell has had all three of his key off-season recruits available for selection in a line up that boasts plenty of creative flair and goal scoring potency.
The Glory have an impressive record against last season-s champions with five wins from their nine previous encounters and will be hoping to kick start their season with a victory in front of a big home crowd.
Two times golden boot winner Jamie Harnwell has also been included in the squad and will help with the club-s effectiveness up front. Speedy winger Nick Rizzo is the other addition and his pin-point crosses from the left will give the Glory another dimension to their round one line-up.
Disappointingly David Tarka will be missing from defence after straining a thigh muscle in last week-s opening round but is only expected to miss one match.
“There is something about Perth Glory and Newcastle matches that really catch the eye,” Mitchell said.
“Adrian is raring to go and he-ll be keen to put in a big performance in front of our passionate fans. Jamie is a crowd favourite as well so it-ll be terrific to have members and supporters packed into Members Equity to see what I expect will be a very high quality encounter.
“I thought we were unlucky not to get something out of our first match and the mood at training has been very positive and the lads are determined to get all three points on offer against the Jets,” Mitchell said.
Friday 22 August
Perth Glory v Newcastle Jets
Equity Stadium, Kick-Off 7.00pm (AWST)
Referee: Craig Zetter
Live & exclusive broadcast on Fox Sports 1 and Sky Sports 3. Hyundai A-League club radio broadcast partner is 6PR 882am.
To pre-purchase tickets call Ticketmaster on 136 100 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.au. Tickets can be purchased at the venue on the day but it is recommended that patrons arrive early to avoid delays – Gates open 5.30pm.
Perth Glory Squad: 1.Jason PETKOVIC (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 4.Jamie COYNE (c), 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Nick RIZZO, 9.Adrian TRINIDAD, 10.AMARAL, 11.Scott BULLOCH, 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 14.Eugene DADI, 15.Hayden DOYLE, 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17.James DOWNEY, 20.Frank JURIC (gk), 21.Mark LEE, 24.Anthony SKORICH
* two to be omitted
In: Jamie Harnwell (return from injury), Nick Rizzo (promoted), Adrian Trinidad (return from injury).
Out: David Tarka (Thigh – 1 week).
Unavailable: James Robinson (stomach – 1 week), Josip Magdic (ankle – 1 week), Hayden Foxe (foot – 2 weeks), Naum Sekulovski (hamstring – 2 weeks).
Newcastle Jets Squad: 1 Ante COVIC, 2 Adam GRIFFITHS, 3 Jade NORTH, 5 James HOLLAND, 7 Kaz PATAFTA, 8 Matt THOMPSON, 9 Joel GRIFFITHS, 10 Jin-Hyung SONG, 11 Tarek ELRICH, 12 Jobe WHEELHOUSE, 13 Adam D-APUZZO, 16 Ben KANTAROVSKI, 18 Noel SPENCER, 20 Ben KENNEDY, 23 Edmundo ZURA.
In: 3 Jade North (returns from Olyroo duties), 7 Kaz Patafta (promoted).
Out: 15 Jason Hoffman (Qantas Young Socceroos duties), 17 Antun Kovacic (not selected)
Unavailable: 19 Jason Naidovski (Qantas Young Socceroos duties),14 Shaun Ontong (ankle – indefinite), 6 Jesper Hakansson (calf – 1 week).
* Head-to-head: All matches (played 9): Perth Glory wins 5, Newcastle Jets wins 2 (2 draws). In Perth (played 4): Perth Glory wins 1, Newcastle Jets wins 1 (2 draws).
