Glory ALM Head Coach Stephen Peters has called for his charges to improve across the board as they seek to secure a revenge win over Brisbane Roar at the Sam Kerr Football Centre on Sunday (kick-off at 5pm, tickets available HERE).
Watch his full pre-match media conference HERE
The women in purple make a welcome return home having been defeated in each of their back-to-back away games against Melbourne Victory and Western United last week.
And having also been downed 3-0 by Roar in Round 3, Peters believes that his side should not be struggling for motivation this weekend.
“I think we did very well in the Victory game,” he said.
“Obviously the Western United game wasn’t great and we were extremely disappointed with our output in that game, but I thought for 30 minutes in we were actually half-decent as well.
“So we have to improve in all facets of the game, especially in front of goal and obviously defending our own goal.
“We’ve got to compete.
“Brisbane are a fantastic team and I think they’ll definitely be in the mix for both bits of silverware this year.
“You’ve got Sharn Freier who’s just signed for Wolfsburg in what is going to be massive step in her career and then [Tameka] Yallop who’s extremely experienced in the league.
“So we have to be ready for what it’s going to take to bring a challenge to Roar.
“We definitely haven’t forgotten the game we played against them at Perry Park which was a very difficult night for us.”
Sunday’s game marks the beginning of the second half of the season and Peters feels that Glory should be sitting higher in their table than their current position of eleventh.
“I think we’ve left between five and eight points out there in terms of our results,” he said.
“There have been some games where we’ve drawn when we could have won and some games that we’ve lost when we could have drawn.
“So we’re probably a couple of places down from where we could have been and that’s pretty difficult to digest for most of us.
“But we’ve just got to make sure that we’re pushing, particularly this week and into the second half of the season.
“We need to not focus too much on the table, but just concentrate week by week and try and claw our way back up the table.”
Seven of Glory’s nine competition points this term have been collected at home and the Head Coach is determined to see that tally increase at the expense of Roar.
“We have to remember what the key factors are in terms of why we’re performing strongly at home,” he said.
“It’s got to do with sticking to the game plan, making sure we’re strong both offensively and defensively, not being overawed by the opponent and laying a platform to play the football we would like to play.”
The fact that 24 members of Glory’s 26-strong ALW squad have seen game-time this term is a stark indication of how much of a toll injuries have taken, but Peters was cautiously optimistic when questioned on the subject.
“We’re hopeful that Georgia Cassidy may be available as long as she can pass her concussion protocols and Izzy Dalton should see some more game time,” he said.
“Obviously Tijan [McKenna] returns from suspension, Sarah O’Donoghue is very close to returning from injury and Kelli Brown isn’t far away either, so we’re looking healthier bit by bit.”
While Brisbane remain handily placed in fourth, they have gone off the boil slightly in recent weeks, losing three of their last four games.
Alex Smith’s side remain the highest scorers in the competition, however, having found the net 32 times in 12 games.
Seven of those goals have been claimed by Laini Freier, while Matildas midfielder Yallop has bagged six.
At the other end of the field, US ‘keeper Olivia Sekany has kept four clean sheets and Chelsea Blissett and Holly McQueen have also impressed.
Of the 11 previous meetings between the two sides in WA, Glory have won five to Roar’s four, with the most recent of those victories for the Queenslanders coming back in 2017.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2024-25 Season Round 13
Perth Glory v Brisbane Roar
Sam Kerr Football Centre
Sunday 26 January 2025
Kick-off: 5pm
Perth Glory Squad: 1.Casey DUMONT, 2.Mischa ANDERSON, 4.Claudia VALLETTA, 5.Grace JOHNSTON, 6.Tijan MCKENNA, 7.Megan WYNNE, 9.Gabby HOLLAR, 11.Natalie TATHEM, 12.Caitlin DOEGLAS, 13.Naomi CHINNAMA, 14.Miku SUNAGA, 18.Izzy FOLETTA, 20.Ella ABDUL MASSIH, 21.Miranda TEMPLEMAN (gk), 23.Izzy DALTON (co-c), 25.Ella LINCOLN, 27.Charli WAINWRIGHT, 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG (co-c)
(Two to be omitted)
INS: 6.Tijan MCKENNA, 18.Izzy FOLETTA
OUTS: None
UNAVAILABLE: 8.Georgia CASSIDY (concussion protocols), 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM (injured), 16.Bella WALLHEAD (injured), 19.Sarah O’DONOGHUE (injured), 44.Kelli BROWN (injured)
Brisbane Roar Squad: 1. Keeley RICHARDS, 2. Leia VARLEY, 3. Deborah-Anne DE LA HARPE 6. Holly MCQUEEN, 8. Mariel HECHER, 10. Grace KUILAMU, 11. Sharn FREIER, 12. Tamar LEVIN, 13. Tameka YALLOP, 14.Zara KRUGER, 16. Chelsea BLISSETT, 17. Evdokia POPADINOVA, 18. Emily PRINGLE, 19. Laini FREIER, 20. Tanaye MORRIS, 23. Isabela HOYOS, 32. Alicia WOODS, 33. Olivia SEKANY (gk)
(Two to be omitted)
INS: 23. Isabela HOYOS
OUTS: 7. Momo HAYASHI (ankle)
UNAVAILABLE: 4. Kijah STEPHENSON (ACL), 22. Ruby CUTHBERT (hamstring)
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