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Academy side revved up for Rockingham clash

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The PGFC Academy First Team are back in Football West NPL action on Sunday afternoon when they host newly-promoted Rockingham City at E&D Litis Stadium (kick off at 3pm).

The youngsters returned to winning ways last week against Sorrento, with Gomo Dukuly coming off the bench to bag a brace and the livewire forward was understandably delighted to have made such an impact.

“It’s always a good feeling when you’re playing well and scoring goals as a forward,” he said, “and to combine that with a few wins for the team means it’s definitely a good moment for us.

“It’s good to be playing with such a talented bunch of players, and we’ll be looking for more of the same on Sunday.

“Although Rockingham haven’t had the greatest start to the season, they showed what they’re capable of during the [pre-season] Night Series so we won’t be taking them lightly and it should be an entertaining game.”

Glory Head Coach Richard Garcia, meanwhile, was quick to praise Dukuly for his goals and also lauded his squad’s work ethic. 

“I was delighted for Gomo,” he said. “He’s working really hard at training and is pushing for a starting role in the side.

“Training is intense and all players know the players on the bench want their spot, so it’s up to them to earn their shirt on match days and that makes it difficult for me at selection.

“But I know my players are working for each other and that’s a huge positive and it showed in how we ran out the game against Sorrento to take the points.

“In terms of this weekend, they [Rockingham] have started their first season in the NPL well and have a few similar faces.

“But on Sunday it’s all about us and how we apply ourselves on the day. The lads have been good in recent weeks, but we still need to improve and we’ve worked extremely hard this week to do that.

“I’m confident if we play the way we can, we will get the right result.”

Garcia went on to pay tribute to Henry Hore who took out the club’s Foxtel Y-League Most Glorious Player Award at the Glory presentation night held at Crown Towers earlier this week.

“Henry has been great this season in both the Foxtel Y-League and the NPL,” he said.

“Not only has he been influential on the pitch, but his leadership is vital for the younger lads in the squad.

“He came over from Brisbane last season and has worked his socks off and we are delighted the skipper has been recognised as our player of the year.”

Hore himself was understandably delighted to have claimed the accolade.

“I was very honoured to receive the award,” he said, “but I couldn’t have done it without the great coaching staff and the fantastic team we have.”

The First Team’s clash with Rockingham is set to kick off at 3pm on Sunday, with the Under-18s getting things underway at 11am, followed by the Under-20s at 1pm.

If you can’t get along to E&D Litis Stadium, you can watch a live stream of the Under-20s and First Team games courtesy of Football West HERE.

Both of the younger age groups were in action against Sorrento in midweek, the 18s winning 2-1 and the 20s securing a 1-1 draw.

#OneMission #OneGlory