Glory’s Foxtel Youth League (FYL) campaign is set to get underway on Sunday morning when Adelaide United will provide the opposition at Dorrien Gardens (10.30am kick-off, admission FREE).
The FYL will once again feature two conferences this year, with Glory competing in Conference A alongside Brisbane Roar, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and first-up opponents, Adelaide.
The winners of the two conferences will meet in the Grand Final and with only eight games to play in the regular season, Glory Head Coach Richard Garcia is keenly aware of the need to get off to a strong start.
“It’s always important to start well, firstly for confidence and secondly because it is such a short season,” he said.
“To be in contention for the final, you have to start well.
“The boys have had a good pre-season and they’re looking forward to it.”
In terms of Glory’s squad for the upcoming campaign, meanwhile, Garcia confirmed that it will consist of a number of the players who represented the PGFC Academy First Team in this year’s National Premier League WA (NPL), supplemented by some further additions.
“There are a few new faces, some guys getting promoted and some others who have joined us from outside the program, which is fantastic,” he said.
“The Academy is going from strength to strength and it’s good to see that we’re attracting young, eager footballers.”
The Head Coach went on to explain that the FYL presents some very different demands for the players from those that they face in the NPL.
“Tactically and mentally it’s good to play against guys of a similar age and who are being taught the same kind of football,” he said.
“NPL always brings up a different challenge which is more physical and there are also one or two teams out there that caused tactical problems for the boys.
“But in this competition (FYL), it’s really about them being against guys of their own age and seeing where they’re at in terms of the international set-up and so on.
“It’s a good opportunity for them to show what they’ve got to the international selectors as they play against the best the country has to offer in their own age group.””
And what is Garcia’s overall target for the season?
“You always want to try and get to the final and win it,” he said, “but that’s not always easy when there’s a lot of change.
“I feel that this year, the players that are in have grown in a positive way, so hopefully they can now get more game-time and keep developing mentally and physically.
“So really, the target, as well as to win, is to make sure that these guys now progress another year into their football careers and push for first-team positions.”
To view Glory’s full FYL fixture list, click HERE.
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