They may be gunning for a fourth successive home victory, but ALW Head Coach Stephen Peters is adamant that there is no danger of complacency creeping into his Glory side ahead of Friday’s clash with struggling Western Sydney Wanderers at Sam Kerr Football Centre (kick-off at 7pm, tickets available HERE).
Click HERE to view his full pre-match media conference.
Click HERE to view goalkeeper Teresa Morrissey’s pre-match media conference.
The women in purple have surged back into the top six of the Ninja A-League ladder off the back of those wins, each coming via a 1-0 scoreline and could climb to fourth if they manage to complete a double over Wanderers whom they previously defeated on the road in Round One.
But although the red-and-blacks have tasted victory just once this term and are currently running last, Peters is keenly aware of the threat they pose.
“You’re obviously going to take some things out of that first game in terms of some of their players’ characteristics and what their dangers are,” he said.
“But they’ve got a lot of new faces in the squad, so we’ve got to be prepared for that and they’ve also made some tactical changes from game to game, playing different formations against different opponents, so it’ll be interesting to see which one they play against us.
“We’ve got to be prepared for that.
“If you look at the three [positive] results they’ve had, they won away at Brisbane with a clean sheet, they had a clean sheet against Sydney FC in a 0-0 draw and they had a 1-1 draw with Canberra who are top of the league.
“If you look at those [results] in isolation, they’re very capable and I know I’ve sounded like a bit of a broken record saying this of late, but every team in the competition is capable of taking points in any game.
“So you have to be up for it and you can’t take anything for granted.”
The Head Coach went on to confirm that spirits are high in the Glory camp and that he has been heartened by the way players have responded to both coming in and dropping out of the side.
“The vibe’s good,” he said.
“There’s a resilience and a togetherness about them.
“I think they’re all on the same page in terms of what they’re wanting out of the game.
“The pleasing thing about that is that it doesn’t matter who is in or out of the team, they’re all bringing that to the table.
“It’s great that we’re getting that consistency from a larger part of the squad.”
Peters is also pleased to see his charges starting to increase their attacking output while not compromising their defensive stability
“The fluency is developing in attack and I think the last couple of games have showcased that, which is good,” he said.
“It’s always been there.
“I think we were quite good at the start of the season with the football, but obviously when you lose confidence, you tend to go into your shell and concentrate on being a bit sturdier.
“So it’s a bit of a balancing act.
“I think we’ve just got to stick to our principles off the ball and on the ball and if we do that for consistent periods in the game, we’re in every single match in this competition.”
In terms of early team news, Peters confirmed that leading scorer Rola Badawiya’s quad problem will rule her out once again this week but that the squad did not pick up any fresh injuries from last week’s clash with the Jets.
Glory impressive 3-1 win over Wanderers in NSW on opening day took the club’s tally of victories to 12 in the 23 overall clashes between the two.
Geoff Abrahams’ side also lost at home to Melbourne Victory in Round 2 before bouncing back with an impressive away win over Brisbane Roar, but have not secured maximum points since.
Among their more impressive performers have been Ella Buchanan who has claimed one goal and two assists, versatile Korean import Kim Soeun who can operate equally effectively as either a midfielder or a forward and Talia Younis who has provided a lively presence up front despite being only 17.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2025/26 Season Round 12
Perth Glory v Western Sydney Wanderers
Sam Kerr Football Centre
Friday 9 January 2026
Kick-off: 7pm
Perth Glory Squad: 1.Teresa MORRISSEY (gk), 2.Mischa ANDERSON, 3.Emma TOVAR, 4.Daisy MCALLISTER, 5.Grace JOHNSTON, 6.Tijan MCKENNA, 8.Georgia CASSIDY, 9.Gabby HOLLAR, 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM, 12.Bronte TREW, 16.Olivia WOOD, 19.Sarah O’DONOGHUE, 23.Isobel DALTON (c), 24.Julia SARDO, 25.Ella LINCOLN, 27.Charli WAINWRIGHT, 28.Clancy WESTAWAY, 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 4.Daisy MCALLISTER, 16.Olivia WOOD, 30.Jessica SKINNER (gk)
Outs: 21.Megan PHILLIPS (gk)
Unavailable: 7.Megan WYNNE (injured), 11.Natalie TATHEM (injured), 13.Naomi CHINNAMA (injured), 17.Rola BADAWIYA (injured), 20.Ella ABDUL MASSIH (injured)
Western Sydney Wanderers squad: 2. Janae DEFAZIO, 3. Wang YING, 4. Poppie HOOKS, 5. Milly BENNETT, 6. Amy CHESSARI, 7. Amy HARRISON, 8. Olivia PRICE, 9. Kim SOEUN, 10. Yuan CONG, 11. Danika MATOS, 12. Brianna EDWARDS, 14. Ella BUCHANAN, 17. Allyssa NG SAAD, 19. Talia YOUNIS, 20. Sham KHAMIS, 22. Alana CERNE, 25. Holly CASPERS, 37. Ena HARADA, 66. Chloe BERRYHILL
(Two to be omitted)
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ALW Match Preview: In-form Glory taking nothing for granted against Wanderers
