Head Coach Ruben Zadkovich believes that his Glory squad is in good shape ahead of what he described as a pivotal clash with Brisbane Roar at Kayo Stadium on Sunday (kick-off at 2pm WST).
Skipper Mustafa Amini and defensive lynchpin Darryl Lachman are set to return from injury and suspension respectively, while Salim Khelifi and Aaron McEneff are also poised to feature once again following their spells on the sidelines.
And having enjoyed more time on the training ground ahead of the Round 18 showdown, the Head Coach is eyeing a return to winning ways in the Sunshine State.
Click HERE to view his full pre-match media conference.
“Preparations have been good,” he said.
“It’s been a bit of a longer week, so we’ve had a bit more time to prepare.
“We’ve been working really hard.
“Musti’s back on the training pitch, which is great and he’ll be an addition for us this week as long as his back holds up.
“Aaron will build up now and get some more fitness through some more training sessions… and Salim got through the game pretty well.
“Obviously Darryl is back from suspension and having Musti and Darryl back is two big inclusions.
“They were big losses last week and we missed them.
“We’re very happy with where we’re at and have a lot of bodies to pick from at the moment.
“We’ve still got a few that need fitness and match fitness especially, but they’re coming together at the right time to push.
“We know that Finals is definitely an option for us if we finish the season well and games like this become pivotal.”
Glory may have gone four games without a win, but Zadkovich feels that thy have been unfortunate not to emerge with more points from these fixtures.
“I thought last week [v Central Coast Mariners] we were good in patches, but we were also very poor in patches and we didn’t play enough.
“So we’ve been working on a few structures and a few patterns this week and refocusing what we want to do when we’ve got the ball.
“We’re fighting really hard.
“The last four games have been very, very close.
“We’ve made a few mistakes and had a few defensive errors and individual errors which have cost us goals and points, but there were a lot of positives to take away from those performances as well.
“All in all, there were a lot of positives to take from the games, it was just that the results didn’t come for us.
“We’ve done our analysis of the games and we know where we need to be better.
“We just have to go and get the job done against Brisbane.”
Glory will face a Roar side with a new man in the dugout in the form of Nick Green who replaced Warren Moon earlier this week and Zadkovich admitted that his appointment makes it harder to predict how the hosts will approach the game.
“We don’t really know what they’ll put forward,” he said.
“They’ve chopped and changed formations a little bit as well, so we’re not quite sure how they’ll line up, but we’re focusing on ourselves.
“What we will expect is a response.
“There’s usually a response from players and we’ll expect a really tough Brisbane team.
“To be honest, Brisbane at home, although they haven’t won much, they’ve had a lot of draws which shows just how competitive they are and how tight the league is.
“So we expect a tough and difficult game and we’ve got to travel a fair distance and prepare well.”
Roar are currently two places and three points below Glory in the A-League table having won three and drawn eight of their 17 games this term.
Among their more consistent performers have been former Glory defender Scott Neville, who has started every game, Irish midfielder Jay O’Shea, who has claimed three goals and one assist and goalkeeper Jordan Holmes who has kept five clean sheets in 15 starts.
The last eight meetings between the two sides have produced an even split of three wins apiece and two draws and Glory’s ex-Brisbane striker Adam Taggart has scored in each of his six most recent appearances against his former club.
Match Details
ISUZU UTE A-League 2022/23 Season Round 18
Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory
Sunday 26 February 2023
Kayo Stadium
Kick-off: 2pm WSTÂ
Brisbane Roar squad: 1.Macklin FREKE (gk), 2.Scott NEVILLE, 3.Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 5.Thomas ALDRED ©, 7.Rahmat AKBARI, 10.Nikola MILEUSNIC, 11. Jez LOFTHOUSE, 12.Taras GOMULKA, 13.Henry HORE, 14.Robbie KRUSE, 15.Noah SMITH, 16.Joshua BRINDELL-SOUTH, 17.Carlo ARMIENTO, 19 Jack HINGERT, 21.Marcel CANADI, 22.Stefan SCEPOVIC, 23.Jordan HOLMES (gk), 27.Kai TREWIN, 28.Joseph KNOWLES, 35.Louis ZABALA, 99. Ayom MAJOK
Ins: Jack HINGERT (Back from injury)
Outs: Jay O’SHEA (Broken Toe)
Unavailable: Nil
Perth Glory squad: 2.John KOUTROUMBIS, 3.Jacob DOWSE, 4.Luke BODNAR, 5.Mark BEEVERS, 6.Aaron MCENEFF, 7.Ryan WILLIAMS, 8.Mustafa AMINI (c), 10.Salim KHELIFI, 13.Cameron COOK (gk),14.Jack CLISBY, 15.Jordan ELSEY, 16.Keegan JELACIC, 18.David WILLIAMS, 19.Zach DUNCAN, 21.Antonee BURKE-GILROY, 22.Adam TAGGART, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 30.Pierce CLARK (gk), 37.Jacob MUIR, 43.Adam ZIMARINO
Ins: 8.Mustafa AMINI (c), 29.Darryl LACHMAN
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 1.Brad JONES (gk) (injured), 24.Adrian SARDINERO (injured)
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