Like Kenny Lowe’s men, Glory’s NPL WA will enjoy home ground advantage this weekend as they welcome Joondalup United to Ashfield Arena.
The youngsters remain unbeaten so far this term after picking what defender Walter Scott felt was a deserved point against Balcatta last time out.
“Last week was a really hard game,” he said. “Balcatta were organised and caused us problems, but securing a result was very important and we kept fighting until the end. Having said that, we were disappointed as we let our own unforced errors decide the game.”
Scott’s fine form in the Foxtel Y-League earlier in the year didn’t go unnoticed and he was duly selected to play in the Hyundai A-League side, an opportunity that the 18-year-old relished.
“My couple of A-League games have been an amazing experience for me,” he said. “Being involved with the first team was a privilege which has given me great confidence to keep pushing to pursue my goals.”
For now, however, Scott is fully focused upon helping Glory get the better of a Joondalup United side to whom they lost twice last season.
“Joondalup’s game is built on their great physicality, which we must face head on,” he said. “Since the back end of last season and throughout our recent Y-League campaign, Gibbo [Head Coach John Gibson] has encouraged us to become more competitive and comfortable with that side of the game and we are all maturing in that facet.
“We are all very excited for Sunday, as it gives us a great opportunity to keep our good run of form going against very tough opposition. They’ll be confident given the results last season, but I think we will be well prepared.”
Gibson, meanwhile, was happy with the resilience his side showed against Balcatta, but disappointed with the nature of the goals they conceded.
“We obviously feel we dropped two points,” he said, “but were really pleased with the character we showed to continue to the end and hit back with a very late equaliser. But we should have been out of sight early.
“We created some great chances throughout the whole match and had a majority of the possession, but we didn’t take the chances. “This group is growing and evolving, their team positivity, spirit and attitude has been first-class and they work really hard for each other.”
And Gibson is optimistic that his side will bring that mindset into Sunday’s game.
“We understand it will be a tough encounter,” he said.
“They have some quality players in their side, but as normal it’s about us. We are well aware that every game in this competition is tough, but the players have trained well this week and they know consistency is the key.”
Match Details
Sunday March 11, 2018
Perth Glory v Joondalup United
Ashfield Arena
Kick-off: 5pm
Glory’s Under-18s will be in action at 1pm, followed by the Under-20s at 3pm.
Glory members must produce their current membership card to gain FREE entry, admission for non-members is $10 (adults) $5 (concessions) and children under 16 go FREE.
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