Glory Head Coach Stephen Peters believes that Friday’s home clash with Sydney FC is set to be one of his side’s most significant games of the Ninja A-League season so far (kick-off at 7pm, tickets available HERE).
Watch his full pre-match media conference HERE
The reigning Champions will travel across the country looking to climb off the foot of the table, a position few would have expected them to occupy before the season got underway.
And with the women in purple also keen to bounce back after consecutive defeats to Central Coast and Wellington, Peters sees the Round 11 showdown as a high-stakes clash.
“I think they [Sydney FC] probably looked at this game on paper and said it’s a game they’re sure they can win,” he said.
“So we know they’re going to be coming here pretty determined to get the three points because as you’ve seen on the table, back-to-back wins catapults you up pretty quickly.
“It’s a massive, massive game for us, so we have to be ready for the energy that we need to put in to get the points.
“They’re a team that’s very well-organised typically and they’ve always got a big danger on the counter-attack.
“That’s been their mantra for the last couple of years.
“They’ve had matchwinners all across the park and they still do.
“It’s just a matter of time until they start showcasing that more consistently and get the wins on the board.
“In terms of us, we’re obviously not going to be rolling out the red carpet for them.
“We’ve got to get in their face and welcome them to Perth the way we know how.”
Peters went on to reflect upon last weekend’s trip to Wellington which saw his side go down to a 2-0 defeat on what was a particularly blustery afternoon at Porirua Park.
“I don’t think a lot went wrong; it’s just where we’re at at the moment,” he said.
“The first half and the first half result was good.
“We went in at 0-0 and I thought we were cagey enough in that game to give them a few problems.
“But unfortunately, and I don’t want to blame the conditions, but we seemed to have a bit of an issue with having the wind behind us first half.
“And then being so far away from the bench with the wind against us, it was difficult for a lot of the young players that we had out there.
“It was a very good experience for them and I think that will come back to us down the track, but for the time being, it’s very difficult for some of these girls to execute a 90-minute performance.”
In terms of early team news, late decisions will be made on a number of Glory’s walking wounded, including co-captain Izzy Dalton and versatile duo Tijan McKenna and Ella Abdul Massih, but Gabby Hollar has been given the green light to feature despite being forced from the field by a nose injury against Phoenix.
As for Sydney FC, their poor start to the current campaign has come as a major shock given their recent dominance of the competition.
Ante Juric’s side have won just one of their nine fixtures to date and are the competition’s lowest scorers with six.
Former Glory forward Millie Farrow is yet to get off the mark for her new club in five appearances, while fellow-attackers Indiana Dos Santos and Princess Ibini have managed just two goals between them.
The Sky Blues have enjoyed the upper hand over Glory in recent years, however and are unbeaten in WA since December 2018.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2024-25 Season Round 11
Perth Glory v Sydney FC
Sam Kerr Football Centre
Friday 10 January 2025
Kick-off: 7pm
#ONEGlory