Perth Glory’s Youth team will be looking to rebound from last week’s disappointing 6-0 loss against Brisbane Roar, when they hit the road in week three of the Foxtel National Youth League, to take on Melbourne City at CB Smith Reserve on Saturday morning
The big loss was something skipper Joe Knowles didn’t see coming, but he said they have worked hard at training and are determined to bounce back.
“We definitely didn’t see that coming, especially with the strong side we put out,” he said.
“We were all very disappointed with our performance, we weren’t good enough and we we’re taught a lesson, but we will learn from it.
“I thought we had more shots and chances than Brisbane in the first half, but didn’t convert. They had four shots and scored three, it just wasn’t our day.”
The striker knows the season is short and will need to bounce back and he believes they will on Saturday.
“The new format of the league means the season is so short, so it’s very important to get off to a good start, and that’s why we were all disappointed with the result,” Knowles said.
“But we will pick ourselves up and work hard this weekend against a good Melbourne City side.
“City away is always a hard game, but we’re looking forward to the challenge, and I’m positive we will learn from last week.
“We’ve worked hard with Gibbo (coach John Gibson) and he has a plan and hopefully we’ll do some damage and get the win.”
Gibson said last week’s result is behind them, and said everyone was hurting after the loss to Brisbane, but had trained well this week, and was confident the player group would respond.
“Over the course of last year we have built up some really good momentum, but last week was very disappointing, and this disappointment was felt throughout the whole club,” he said.
“We certainly don’t accept that performance and are looking for a positive this weekend.
“It’s important we have a positive reaction this weekend – and there’s no doubt in our mind that this will be the case.
“One thing we know about this group is that they are tough and resilient. They’ve worked even harder this week as we look to put last week behind us.”
The Coach said they need to re-group and Saturday’s clash against the City is the perfect opportunity.
“This competition is tight and relentless, where any team can beat each other on the day and we are super positive regarding this week’s away fixture – we have a nice little rivalry with all the teams in our tough conference,” Gibson explained.
“Throughout last week’s game we created a host of chances, which their keeper pulled off some super saves, conversely we collectively leaked some really poor goals which we are not happy about.
“This weekend presents an opportunity to perform well against a tough opponent in City, and we as a group love these types of challenges. We are confident that this week will represent a much improved performance.”
Kick-off is at 7.30am (WST).
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