Hana Lowry is quietly confident that Glory can bounce back to winning ways at the expense of old rivals Canberra United in Saturday’s crunch Liberty A-League clash at Macedonia Park (kick-off at 7:30pm, tickets available HERE).
View Hana’s full pre-match interview HERE
The women in purple could close the gap on leaders Melbourne City to just four points if they were to pick up a fourth home win of the season and in doing so, complete a first ever double over the side from the capital.
And the in-form midfielder believes that with some minor improvements in key areas, they can do exactly that.
“We’re all really focused on the job we have to do at the weekend,” she said.
“We know that it’s a really important game and it’s crucial that we get three points.
“Obviously the last few games haven’t been our best and it’s really important that we turn that around this weekend.
“In what is a long season we started really well and then I guess some things just haven’t gone our way.
“We need to be a bit more clinical around the goal, keep the ball for longer periods and be more possession-based.
“We need to take the positives from the start of the season and even though the results haven’t gone out way in the last few games, still take the positives from those games and be confident that we’re good enough.
“We all have that belief that we’re good enough and now it’s just about showing that on the pitch.”
Canberra will make the trip west sitting at the foot of the ladder, but they did manage to down leaders Melbourne City last weekend and Lowry is certainly not underestimating the challenge that Njegosh Popovich’s side will provide.
“We know Canberra are going to be a really tough opponent, but we just need to focus on our own actions and making sure that we’re executing the little details because that’s maybe what’s letting us down a little bit,” she said.
“And we know that we’re fully capable of doing that.
“Canberra are a fast-paced team and on the transition they’re really threatening as we saw against City last week, so we know that Michelle [Heyman] and Vesna [Milivojevic] are huge targets for them, but all round the pitch they’ve got smart ball players and we just need to smart about how we’re playing and shut that down.”
At a personal level, Lowry has enjoyed another outstanding season, starting every game in a variety of midfield roles and claiming three goals and four assists.
And the 20-year-old is relishing her role in the side, along with the support she and her teammates are receiving from the Macedonia Park faithful
“I’m really enjoying getting exposure to different positions,” she said.
“There’s so much for me to learn.
“Playing bit deeper, being more a ball player and also I enjoy going forward and having shots and things like that, so I appreciate that trust [Head Coach] Alex [Epakis] has in me to play both positions and I feel like I’ve learned a lot this season.
“The crowds this season have been unbelievable and for me personally, having my friends and family there watching, it means a lot.
“It just gives us that extra boost and we’ve seen that in games that we’ve won it right in the 90th minute and that’s a credit to them.
“Our home record is very strong and again, that’s credit to the crowd and what they’ve made Macedonia Park [into].”
Having won only one of their opening ten games, Saturday’s visitors have shown substantial improvement in recent weeks, securing six points from their last four outings.
With 29 goals and eight assists between them, Heyman and Vilivojevic are very much United’s headline double-act, while Nickoletta Flannery has also impressed at times, as has Chilean import, Maria Jose Rojas.
Although the Green machine have enjoyed 14 victories to Glory’s four overall, the WA side have secured maximum points in each of the two most recent meetings.
In terms of early team news for the hosts, Susan Phonsongkham returns to selection contention after missing last week’s defeat to Sydney FC due to suspension, while the concussion she suffered in that clash with the Sky Blues rules out defender Sadie Lawrence.
Liberty A-League 2023/24 Season Round 17
Perth Glory v Canberra United
Macedonia Park
Saturday 10 February 2024
Kick-off: 7.30pm 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, 19.Izzy FOLETTA, 20.Quinley QUEZADA, 22.Claudia MIHOCIC, 23.Isobel DALTON, 24.Sally JAMES (GK), 25.Grace JOHNSTON, 27.Georgia CASSIDY, 28.Anika STAJCIC
Four to be omitted
Ins: 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM, 13.Sarah CAIN, 14.Tia STONEHILL, 17.Abbey GREEN, 25.Grace JOHNSTON, 28.Anika STAJCIC
Outs: 18.Sadie LAWRENCE
Unavailable: 16.Isabella WALLHEAD (injured), 18.Sadie LAWRENCE (injured)
Canberra United squad: 1. Chloe LINCOLN, 2. Alex MCKENZIE, 3. Sarah CLARK, 4. Holly MURRAY, 5. Emma ILIJOSKI, 7. Maria ROJAS, 8. Sasha GROVE, 9. Ruby NATHAN, 10. Mary STANIC-FLOODY, 11. Deven JACKSON, 13. Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON, 15. Hannah MCNULTY 16. Maddy WHITTALL 17. Vesna MILIVOJEVIC, 18. Coco MAJSTOROVIC 19. Nickoletta FLANNERY, 20. Lillian SKELLY, 22. Cannon CLOUGH, 23. Michelle HEYMAN, 28. Tegan BERTOLISSIO
Five to be omitted
Ins: 5. Emma ILIJOSKI
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Georgia RITCHIE, Hayley TAYLOR-YOUNG, Maia CAMERON, Ava PIAZZA
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