Glory ALW Head Coach Stephen Peters believes his side are in the right frame of mind to go toe-to-toe with reigning Premiers Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Sunday (kick-off at 1:15pm WST, watch live and FREE on 10.com.au).
Click HERE to watch his full pre-match media conference.
The women in purple will travel east for their final game of 2025 having secured battling, back-to-back 1-0 victories over Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United to climb into the top six of the competition ladder.
And Peters feels that the nature of those wins will stand his charges in good stead as they prepare to lock horns with a side that has been a dominant force in the ALW in recent years.
“They [Melbourne City] are an incredible challenge,” he said, “and we’re going to have to be very, very good both with and without the ball and pay attention to their strengths, but also highlight ours.
“It’s an extremely good challenge for us and I’m just really proud of the players that have put us in the position of taking this challenge on in a good mindset.
“City are a team we respect highly, but obviously we can’t respect them too much.”
While keen to see his side maintain the defensive solidity which has earned them two consecutive clean sheets, the Head Coach is also targeting a significant improvement in Glory’s output when in possession.
“We’ve got to be really good with our high press,” he said
“It’s something we’ve got to bring to the table and we’ve got to be confident once we win the football.
“We’ve got no problem winning the football off teams, it’s just what we do with it from there and I think it’s a little bit of a confidence thing.
“Once we see some tangible outcomes, I think we’ll grow from that.
“I’m extremely proud of the [defensive] application… and it’s a good platform for us, but we can’t get too excited because there are lots of things we need to improve in and obviously there’s a lot of football in front of us.”
Peters went on to provide a squad update in which he revealed that key defender Onyinyechi Zogg could feature against City after missing the Adelaide game due to a quad strain and also discussed midfield duo Izzy Dalton and Emma Tovar.
“It was a precaution to keep her [Zogg] out of that game because she was feeling her quad a little bit,” he said, “so hopefully the scan comes back good and she’s available to play.
“With Dalts, it’s an ongoing one and we’re just going to have to keep looking after her.
“She doesn’t know how to tune it down; she’s always 100 miles per hour and we love that about her.
“Emma we’re hoping has pulled up well… she has said that she’s feeling pretty good and hopefully we can begin to progress her a bit more.
“If we can get her and Dalton on the pitch at the same time, that’s a pretty good thing for us.”
Sunday’s opponents have played only four ALW games this term, largely due to their AFC Women’s Champions League commitments and have collected two victories over Central Coast and Wellington, both at home.
Michael Matricciani’s side have scored eight goals in their four games with Holly McNamara and Shelby McMahon sharing six of those, while the in-form McNamara has also added two assists.
Other players to look out for in City’s ranks include uncompromising New Zealand international defender Rebekah Stott, former Glory midfielder Leticia McKenna who is poised to go head-to-head with sister Tijan and another ex-Glory representative, livewire winger Aideen Keane.
Glory will be looking for a first win against the Victorians since December 2023 in what will be the 18th overall meeting between the two the two sides.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2025/26 Season Round 9
Melbourne City v Perth Glory
AAMI Park
Kick-off: 1:15pm WST (4:15pm Local Time)
Perth Glory Squad: 1.Teresa MORRISSEY (gk), 2.Mischa ANDERSON, 3.Emma TOVAR, 5.Grace JOHNSTON, 6.Tijan MCKENNA, 8.Georgia CASSIDY, 9.Gabby HOLLAR, 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM, 12.Bronte TREW, 16.Olivia WOOD, 17.Rola BADAWIYA, 19.Sarah O’DONOGHUE, 23.Isobel DALTON (c), 24.Julia SARDO, 25.Ella LINCOLN, 27.Charli WAINWRIGHT, 28.Clancy WESTAWAY, 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG, 30.Jessica SKINNER (gk)
* Two to be omitted
Ins: 16.Olivia WOOD, 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG
Outs: None
Unavailable: 7.Megan WYNNE (injured), 11.Natalie TATHEM (injured), 13.Naomi CHINNAMA (injured), 20.Ella ABDUL MASSIH (injured)
Melbourne City Squad: 2. Ellie WILSON, 3. Danielle TURNER, 5. Taylor OTTO, 6. Leticia MCKENNA, 7. Danella BUTRUS, 8. Alexia APOSTOLAKIS, 9. Holly MCNAMARA, 10. Izabella RAKO, 11. Deven JACKSON, 13. Rebekah STOTT (C), 15. Chinaza UCHENDU, 16. Karly ROESTBAKKEN, 17. Kaya JUGOVIC, 18. Leah DAVIDSON, 19. Keira SARRIS, 21. Aideen KEANE, 23. Melissa BARBIERI (GK), 24. Malena MIERES (GK)
In: 17. Kaya JUGOVIC (promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: 12. Shelby McMAHON (knee), 14. Laura HUGHES (knee), 20. Caitlin KARIC (knee), 22. Bryleeh HENRY (back).
(photo courtesy of Tom McCarthy)
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ALW Match Preview: Players in right mindset ahead of “incredible challenge” – Peters
