Glory Head Coach Stephen Peters is relishing the prospect of seeing his new-look side go toe-to-toe with reigning Premiers Melbourne City in Sunday’s 2024/25 Ninja A-League season-opener (kick-off at 12pm WST, watch live and FREE on 10Play).
View his full pre-match media conference HERE
As many as 11 players could make their club debuts at ctrl:cyber Pitch, while the game is also Peters’ first in charge.
And while acknowledging the threat posed by a City side which has collected a plethora of silverware in recent years, he is confident that Glory will put in a strong performance.
“Everyone’s pretty excited and there’s an air of optimism,” he said.
“City’s a formidable opponent, but we’re looking forward to that challenge.
“We’ve had an opportunity to look at them during their AFC [Women’s Club Championship] duties, so that’s a bonus for us and they’re a good side.
“We’re looking forward to it, it’s going to give us a really good indication of where we’re at and I think it’s a great starting platform for us.”
The home side also have a new Head Coach in place, with Michael Matricciani replacing Dario Vidosic, but Peters is not expecting to see major changes in terms of their overall approach.
“They seem to have a philosophy in the club that is carried through from manager to manager to a certain degree,” he said, “so I think there are certain things that remain from Dario’s reign.
“Michael seems like a very astute manager, I think they’re going to play a very good brand of football and we’re definitely going to have to be ready for it.”
In terms of squad news, meanwhile, the Head Coach confirmed that several of Glory’s more experienced players will miss the trip to Victoria.
“Susan [Phonsongkham] has got an ankle injury that she unfortunately carried into pre-season from the NPL [Victoria] Grand Final,” he said, “so she’ll be out for three to four months and that’s a significant challenge for us as she’s a player of great quality.
“Unfortunately two of our internationals are also out at the moment in Megan Wynne and Onyi Zogg.
“Megan will be out for around three weeks with a wrist injury and Onyi has a plantaris injury… she’s working with the medical team and we’re hoping to have her back sooner rather than later.
“So that’s a challenge for us, but with someone out, the next person has to step up and that’s got to be our mantra.
“As long as we’ve got 11 players on the field, we’re going to put in a performance that hopefully everyone will be proud of.”
Sunday will mark the 16th overall meeting between the two sides and although City have enjoyed 10 wins to Glory’s five, the women in purple claimed an impressive 3-1 victory in last year’s corresponding fixture.
The hosts lost a number of key performers during the off-season, including Hannah Wilkinson and Daniela Galic who contributed 15 goals and six assists between them, but have also secured some notable new recruits, including Mariana Speckmaier, who scored ten times for Wellington last term and highly-rated Spanish goalkeeper, Malena Mieres.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2024/25 Season Round 1
Melbourne City v Perth Glory
ctrl:cyber Pitch
Sunday 3 November 2024
Kick-off: 12pm WST (3pm Local)
Melbourne City squad: 5. Taylor OTTO, 6. Leticia McKENNA, 7. Kathryn HARVEY, 8. Alexia APOSTOLAKIS, 10. Rhianna POLLICINA, 12. Shelby McMAHON, 13. Rebekah STOTT (C), 14. Laura HUGHES, 15. Kiera MEYERS, 16. Karly ROESTBAKKEN, 17. Mariana SPECKMAIER, 18. Leah DAVIDSON, 19. Lourdes BOSCH, 20. Caitlin KARIC, 21. Isabella ACCARDO, 22. Bryleeh HENRY, 23. Melissa BARBIERI (GK), 24. Malena MIERES (GK), 27. Tyla-Jay VLAJNIC, 31. Carina ROSSI
(Four to be omitted)
Ins: Nil
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 1. Sophia VARLEY (ankle), 9. Holly McNAMARA (ACL), 11. Emilia MURRAY (calf)
Perth Glory squad: 2.Mischa ANDERSON, 5.Grace JOHNSTON, 6.Tijan MCKENNA, 8.Georgia CASSIDY, 9.Gabby HOLLAR, 11.Natalie TATHEM, 13.Naomi CHINNAMA, 14.Miku SUNAGA, 17.Morgan ROBERTS, 19.Sarah O’DONOGHUE, 20.Ella ABDUL MASSIH, 21.Miranda TEMPLEMAN (gk), 22.Ischia BROOKING, 23.Izzy DALTON (c), 25.Ella LINCOLN, 26.Tanika LALA, 30.Jessica SKINNER (gk), 44.Kelli BROWN
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: Nil
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 1.Casey DUMONT (gk) (not yet available), 7.Megan WYNNE (injured), 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM (injured), 16.Bella WALLHEAD (injured), 18.Izzy FOLETTA (injured), 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG (injured)
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