Glory Head Coach Stephen Peters believes that doing the simple things well is the key to his side getting the better of Wellington Phoenix in what is shaping up as a crunch ALW clash at the Sam Kerr Football Centre on Sunday (kick-off at 5pm, tickets available HERE).
Click HERE to watch his full pre-match media conference
The women in purple return home after consecutive away defeats to Canberra United and Adelaide United knowing that three points are vital if they are to keep their Finals hopes alive heading into the final third of the season.
And Peters is not over-complicating his pre-match message.
“We’ve just got to get our basic fundamentals right,” he said.
“”They went missing against Adelaide, so we’ve stripped everything back again this week and I was very pleased with Monday’s and Tuesday’s sessions.
“Today was a bit more tactical, but the overall message has been to just do the basics right and concentrate for long periods because we seem to lack concentration in key moments.”
In terms of Sunday’s opponents, meanwhile, the Head Coach is anticipating that Paul Temple’s side will take an uncompromising approach to the game, just as they did when the two sides met early last month.
“They are top in the league for tackles made and we are second,” he said, “so I think that’s probably an exciting one for everybody.
“That just tells you what they’ve got to do to get three points.
“They’ve got to impose themselves physically and in the games we’ve done well in, we’ve had that element as well.
“They are a robust team but they’ve got good bits of quality as well.
“[Annalie] Luongo and [Alyssa] Whinham are fantastic players.
“They [Wellington] are quite unpredictable at times, they’re quite a tall, robust side and they hold the ball well.
“They’re an interesting team and I think Paul has done a very good job with them.
“Every game that they play is a tight game and they seem very comfortable in those close games in terms of the pressure that those kinds of game bring, so we’ll need to be ready for that and ready to go the distance.
“I’ll be keen to see how they travel and I’ll be keen to see what kind of mood we’re in come Sunday afternoon.
“It’ll definitely be an interesting contest.”
Phoenix will make the long, trans-continental trip looking to snap a winless run of three games in which they have lost 1-0 to both Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners on the road and drawn with Melbourne Victory at home.
Among their more consistent performers this term have been American midfielder Maya McCutcheon who has contributed two goals and two assists, teenager Manaia Elliott who has found the net three times and Portuguese goalkeeper Carolina Vilao who has kept four clean sheets and saved 44 of the 71 shots she has faced.
The previous three meetings between the two side in WA have yielded an aggregate of 11 goals, with Glory posting two wins to Wellington’s one.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2024-25 Season Round 16
Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix
Sam Kerr Football Centre
Sunday 16 February 2025
Kick-off: 5pm
Perth Glory squad: 1.Casey DUMONT, 2.Mischa ANDERSON, 5.Grace JOHNSTON (subject to concussion protocols), 6.Tijan MCKENNA, 7.Megan WYNNE, 11.Natalie TATHEM, 12.Caitlin DOEGLAS, 13.Naomi CHINNAMA, 14.Miku SUNAGA, 18.Izzy FOLETTA (subject to concussion protocols), 19.Sarah O’DONOGHUE, 20.Ella ABDUL MASSIH, 21.Miranda TEMPLEMAN (gk), 22.Ischia BROOKING, 23.Izzy DALTON (co-c), 27.Charli WAINWRIGHT, 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG (co-c), 44.Kelli BROWN
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 2.Mischa ANDERSON, 22.Ischia BROOKING
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 8.Georgia CASSIDY (injured), 9.Gabby HOLLAR (injured), 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM (injured), 16.Bella WALLHEAD (injured)
Wellington Phoenix squad: 2. Zoe MCMEEKEN, 3. Tiana JABER, 4. Mackenzie BARRY, 5. Alivia KELLY, 6. Maya MCCUTCHEON, 7. Grace JALE, 8. Amelia ABBOTT, 9. Olivia FERGUSSON, 11. Manaia ELLIOTT, 13. Brooke NEARY (gk), 14. Mebae TANAKA, 15. Daisy BRAZENDALE, 16. Annalie LONGO (c), 17. Ela JEREZ, 19. Liv INGHAM, 20. Emma MAIN, 21. Lara WALL, 39. Carolina VILÃO (gk)
#ONEGlory
