Head Coach David Zdrilic is backing his charges to finish with a flourish when they take on Wellington Phoenix in Sunday’s final game of the Isuzu UTE A-League season at Sky Stadium (kick-off at 1pm WST, watch live on Paramount+).
*Please note that this game has been rescheduled to Sunday at 1pm WST due to adverse weather conditions in Wellington
Click HERE to watch David Zdrilic’s pre-match media conference in full
Neither side will be able to significantly alter their ladder position, with Glory destined to finish 13th and Phoenix set for either 11th or 10th place.
But Zdrilic insists that the visitors will not be lacking for motivation when they take to the field in the New Zealand capital.
“It was a tough game in Auckland at the weekend,” he said, “but I thought we fought really well and in the second half, I thought we came back into it and felt we could get something out of the game.
“We’ll be bringing that same energy again on Friday.
“The guys can see that they’re in good shape and we’re raring to go against Wellington.
“Everybody’s got something to show and something to prove.
“The one thing about these guys is that with the situation that we’re in, they’ve put everything on the line, as we saw in Auckland where they really fought in what was a very intimidating atmosphere.
“They’re playing for themselves and for the team and that’s how it should be.”
In terms of Sunday’s opponents, meanwhile, Zdrilic believes that they will look to get on the front foot early in a bid to bounce back from last week’s defeat to Brisbane in front of their own fans.
“I think they’ve gone through some transition themselves this year,” he said.
“They had a fantastic year last year, but this year they’ve had a few changes, nowhere near as many as we’ve had, but it’s affected their form and their season significantly.
“They play differently at home than they do away.
“They really sat back against Brisbane and then when they went behind, they started going forward and changing the formation.
“They are able to chop and change and I expect a little bit more forward intent at home from them, but it’s really about us.
“I think we’ve been playing well… we really want to attack this game with the same mentality, especially with it being the last game.”
The Head Coach went on to report that several players picked up minor niggles in the defeat to Auckland but that he his hopeful they will pull up in time to feature against Phoenix and also confirmed that Sebastian Despotovski could become the latest PGFC Academy product to be given his A-League debut.
“There’s always a chance,” he said.
“It’s been great for him to be here, not just being part of the first team, but experiencing what it’s like to travel away and stay away in this environment.
“We want to give the young guys every opportunity to progress from the Academy into the first team.
“Obviously they have to be doing well and performing and then they’ll get their chance.
“With young guys in general, I’m always looking to play them, when the time is right.”
After coming within one game of the Grand Final last year, Phoenix have found life harder this season, collecting just six wins, with the most recent of those coming nearly a month ago against Newcastle.
That victory over the Jets was their first since late January and unusually, they have been particularly vulnerable at home, losing to Adelaide United, Melbourne City, Macarthur FC, Auckland City and Melbourne Victory.
Providing some welcome relief for the Yellow Fever has been veteran striker Kosta Barbarouses who has bagged ten goals, while Japanese import Hideki Ishige has contributed eight assists in addition to scoring twice and Scott Wootton, Isaac Hughes and Sam Sutton have been mainstays at the back.
Phoenix did, of course, run out 2-0 winners when the two sides met at HBF Park back in Round 2 and have claimed maximum points from 9 of Glory’s 18 previous ALM visits to Sky Stadium.
Glory’s last victory on the chilly side of the Tasman came in October 2019 with Bruno Fornaroli and Chris Ikonomidis providing first-half goals for the visitors and Ulises Davila replying for the hosts from the penalty spot right at the death.
Players to have served both clubs with distinction include Oli Sail, Nicholas Pennington, Liam Reddy, Tando Velaphi, Shane Smeltz and Nicky Ward.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 Season Round 29
Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory
Sky Stadium
Sunday 4 May 2025
Kick-off: 1pm WST
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk), 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Scott WOOTTON, 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 19. Sam SUTTON, 23. Luke SUPYK, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH, 35. Dublin BOON (gk), 36. Xuan LOKE, 40. Eamonn MCCARRON (gk), 41. Nathan WALKER
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES (promoted), 36. Xuan LOKE (promoted), 40. Eamonn MCCARRON (gk) (promoted).
Outs: 6. Tim PAYNE (injured), 39. Jayden SMITH (omitted), 46. Lachlan CANDY (omitted).
Unavailable: 6. Tim PAYNE (injured), 11. Stefan COLAKOVSKI (injured), 12. Chico GERALDES (injured), 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD (gk) (injured).
Perth Glory squad: 1.Oli SAIL (gk), 4.Tass MOURDOUKOUTAS, 6.Brandon O’NEILL, 10.Nikola MILEUSNIC, 12.Taras GOMULKA, 13.Cameron COOK (gk), 16.Adam BUGARIJA, 17.Yuto MISAO, 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Trent OSTLER, 21.Luke AMOS, 22.Adam TAGGART (c), 25.Jaylan PEARMAN, 26.Khoa NGO, 27.Will FRENEY, 28.Kaelan MAJEKODUNMI, 29.Tomi MRCELA, 35.Seb DESPOTOVSKI, 36.Takuya OKAMOTO
(One to be omitted)
Ins: 35.Seb DESPOTOVSKI
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 7.Nicholas PENNINGTON (injured), 9.David WILLIAMS (injured), 15.Zach LISOLAJSKI (injured), 18.Lachie WALES (injured), 23.Patrick WOOD (injured)
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