Glory Head Coach Adam Griffiths has stressed the importance of the Australia Cup to his wider plans for the upcoming season ahead of Tuesday’s Round of 32 away tie with Queensland’s Lions FC (kick-off at 5.30pm WST, TV details to be confirmed).
The men in purple will head to Spencer Park looking to secure a place in the last 16 by repeating their hard-fought 2015 victory over the Queensland NPL side when Chris Harold bagged the only goal of the game in extra-time.
And Griffiths feels that progress in the Cup could play a key role in helping his charges hit the ground running when the new A-League campaign gets underway in mid-October.
“It’s a competition we want to do well in,” he said.
“We’re going to go into every game this season with the mentality that we want to win.
“We want to go on a good Cup run because it builds that culture, that mentality of winning.
“It’s an important game for the club.”
The Glory squad have been back in training for the best part of a month and the Head Coach has been pleased with what he has seen so far.
“Preparations are going well,” he said.
“We’re back into full training and starting to progress in terms of our fitness levels.
“It’s exciting to be back on the training ground and trying to work through a lot of our game model.
“When you make change, it creates a different atmosphere and that change is always positive.
“It allows us to start creating more competition within the squad, that competition is healthy and it means everyone is on their game.”
As for Tuesday’s hosts, they are currently locked in a tight title battle with Peninsula Power whom they currently trail by a single point.
A defeat to Gold Coast Knights last midweek dented their prospects of claiming a first Premiership since 2022, but the reigning Champions bounced back at the weekend by edging out Eastern Suburbs 1-0.
Alexander Fiechtner has led the Lions’ charge this season, finding the net a remarkable 31 times to lead the NPL QLD scoring charts by nine goals, while their squad also features Zane North, son of former Glory defender Jade and Mitchell Hore, brother of current Glory midfielder Henry.
And Griffiths is under no illusions as to the challenge a fired-up home side will pose as they seek to cause a Cupset.
“Lions are a very good outfit,” he said.
“They’re a quality team that has a lot of positive attributes in some of their game model, so it’s going to be a unique game for us.
“It’s our first game of the season and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
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Australia Cup Round of 32 Preview: Griffiths stresses importance of Cup run
