Glory Head Coach Alex Epakis is set to have a positive selection headache to contend with ahead of Sunday’s eagerly-anticipated Liberty A-League clash with Newcastle Jets at HBF Park (kick-off at 2pm, tickets HERE).
In what is the first game of an ALW/ALM double-header, the women in purple will be targeting a second successive win having downed Western United in their opening game of the season last weekend.
And their chances of doing so have been boosted by a clean bill of health among the playing group.
“I think we might be in a position to have a full squad available,” said Epakis.
“The reality is that our strength is in our depth and having internal competition is important as it pushes the group and come game-day, the players are so primed because of that.
“Anyone who comes into the squad or off the bench, we know they’re going to make an impact.”
While the Head Coach was generally pleased with his charges’ victory over last season’s beaten grand finalists in Round One, he is adamant that there is room for improvement ahead of Sunday’s meeting with a Jets side which also collected three points on opening day.
“We were really happy with the performance which was a 90-minute collective effort,” he said.
“There were phases when the opposition had more control than us and then phases when we had more control than them, but I think ultimately we took our chances and were a bit more clinical.
“We also defended our box well and they were the key things that got us over the line… and we were happy with it.
“But after watching it again, it was pretty clear that there are still a lot of things we know we can do a lot better.
“The Jets are an aggressive and physical team, like Western United and they have some pretty powerful players across the park, especially up front.
“So we’ve got to make sure that we manage that physicality well, especially in and around our box as they have some dangerous players who can be clinical in there.
“I think if we minimise that and improve in some of the areas I already mentioned, we certainly give ourselves a chance.”
Two of Glory’s standout performers in the 2-0 win over Western United were debutants Grace Johnston and Georgia Cassidy and Epakis was understandably full of praise for the teenage duo.
“I’ve been delighted with them all pre-season,” he said.
“When you come into a team as a new, young player, you might have some people that are just happy to go through the motions.
“But those two came in on day one and went into business mode and they haven’t looked out of place.
“They’ve improved the squad and the team with what they do and I think they both have bright futures ahead of them.
“They’ve already showed a really rapid increase in their skill-set and understanding of what we’re trying to do and now we need to continue to support them to make sure that that growth is steady and not an up and down roller-coaster.
“I’m excited to see what they’re capable of this season and into the future.”
Sunday will see Glory’s Women playing at HBF Park for the first time since 2018 and their coach is relishing the prospect of experiencing a matchday at the club’s traditional home.
“I’ve been here for four seasons and this is my first opportunity to coach there and I’m extremely excited about that,” he said.
“To play in front of our supporters on what will hopefully be a really good day for the club is something that excites me and the players are sharing that sentiment.
“What I hope is that we really set the scene for what fixtures could look like there in the future, so hopefully it’s a really good turnout and we embrace the moment and the opportunity to play there.”
The Jets, meanwhile, will make the long trip West hoping to avenge last season’s 4-0 drubbing at Macedonia Park and Gary van Egmond’s side will be quietly confident having accounted for F3 Derby rivals Central Coast Mariners last weekend.
Former Melbourne Victory forward Melina Ayres bagged the only goal of the game on what was her debut for the club, but they did lose Alexandra Huynh to a red card and she will subsequently miss the trip to Perth through suspension.
Although Glory have won ten of the 24 overall meetings between the two clubs to the Jets’ six, they have only secured maximum points once on home soil in their last six attempts.
Match Details
Liberty A-League 2023/24 Season Round 2
Perth Glory v Newcastle Jets
HBF Park
Sunday 22 October 2023
Kick-off: 2:00pm WST
Perth Glory squad: 1.Morgan AQUINO (GK), 3.Jessika COWART, 4.Natasha RIGBY (c), 7.Liz ANTON, 8.Hana LOWRY, 9.Millie FARROW, 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM, 11.Grace JALE, 12.Sofia SAKALIS, 13.Sarah CAIN, 14.Tia STONEHILL, 17.Abbey GREEN, 18.Sadie LAWRENCE, 19.Izzy FOLETTA, 20.Quinley QUEZADA, 22.Claudia MIHOCIC, 23.Isobel DALTON, 24.Sally JAMES (GK), 25.Grace JOHNSTON, 27.Georgia CASSIDY
(four to be omitted)
Ins: 7.Liz ANTON, 14.Tia STONEHILL, 20.Quinley QUEZADA, 23.Isobel DALTON
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 16.Isabella WALLHEAD (injured)
Newcastle Jets squad: 1. Izzy NINO, 2. Josie WILSON, 3. Claudia CICCO, 4. Natasha PRIOR, 6. Cass DAVIS, 7. Gema SIMON, 8. Rebecca BURROWS, 9. Mindy BARBIERI, 10. Libby COPUS-BROWN, 13. Lauren ALLAN, 14. Melina AYRES, 18. Sophie HOBAN, 19. Bonnie DAVIES, 21. Kiara ROCHAIX, 22. Lorena BAUMANN, 23. Zoe KARAPIDIS, 24. Milan HAMMOND, 25. Lara GOOCH, 26. Josie ALLAN, 28. Emma DUNDAS
Ins: Nil
Outs: Alex HUYNH (suspended)
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