Perth Glory will kick off their Hyundai A-League 2017-18 campaign against Josh Risdon’s Western Sydney Wanderers at Spotless Stadium on Sunday, October 8.
The defender is likely to make his Western Sydney Wanderers debut against the club he spent seven seasons at after switching from Perth to Parramatta in May this year. Emotions will be running high as new signing Scott Neville is also likely to debut against their old club, with both players entering their second Glory stints after featuring for the Wanderers last season.
After a round two trip to Newcastle Jets, Glory then host their first home game against the Central Coast Mariners in Round 3 on Sunday 22 October. That match is scheduled for an early 4pm kick-off, the same opening home fixture which produced a 3-3 goal fest in Round 1 at nib Stadium last season. Only three of Glory’s first nine matches will be played at home at nib Stadium.
On the flip side, Glory finish the season with five of their last seven matches at home and improving the clubs prospects of eclipsing last season’s 5th place finish and qualifying for the AFC Asian Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
Despite the difficulties in scheduling, Head Coach Kenny Lowe was positive about the upcoming A-League season.
“There are always challenges and complexities when putting together a season schedule,” Lowe said.
“However we’re comfortable that while all our requests haven’t been met, the FFA have listened to our concerns and have accommodated us as much as they could.
“It’s not ideal to play our first two games away from home, the positive is that we have the last five of our seven matches of the season at home at nib Stadium.
“Hopefully we are right in the mix and it gives us the opportunity to come home with a wet sail.”
Glory will also host two games against Melbourne Victory (Both 4pm Sunday matches, 19 November 2017 and 25 March 2018) and two home matches against Melbourne City (Tuesday 7pm, 9 January and Saturday 7pm, 24 February 2018). Glory will also travel to New Zealand twice and host their only Long Distance Derby at 7pm on Saturday 16 December 2017 at nib Stadium.
Glory’s trickiest passage of fixtures occurs at the start of the New Year, when the team plays four games in 13 days during the height of summer with Adelaide United (home on the 5th), Melbourne City (home on the 9th), Melbourne Victory (away on the 13th) and Brisbane Roar (away on the 18th).
The season concludes with what’s set to be a scintillating match against John Aloisi’s Brisbane Roar. That match kicks off at nib Stadium at 8pm on Saturday 14 April 2018.
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