Perth Glory coach Kenny Lowe expects his team to only get better after registering their first win of the Hyundai A-League season.
Despite playing their third game in eight days, Glory overcame a high-possession game from Adelaide United to post to a 3-1 win at nib Stadium on Sunday after falling short in the opening two rounds.
Imports Guyon Fernandez and Diego Castro both found the back of the net in the convincing win and Lowe expected the pair’s confidence to grow even further once they developed stronger rapport with their new teammates.
WRAP: Glory off the mark after downing Reds
“You saw some of the touches from Castro again today, they were sublime,” Lowe said.
“You can see Guyon is getting a bit fitter and a bit more lively. He’s starting to chase his own flick-ons.
“I think there’s a lot left in the team as well. They’re all fairly new to each other and there’s a lot of work to be done, but I think there’s a lot of potential left in the team. Hopefully it’s onwards and upwards.”
Lowe revealed he made a rare appearance in Glory’s change rooms after the win – the club’s second in five days following last Wednesday’s Westfield FFA Cup semi-final victory over Melbourne City – and the mood inside was “very buoyant”.
“If you had written it down actually what you wanted to achieve out of today’s game – give people a rest, hit the on the counter, etc – you couldn’t have written it any better,” Lowe said.
“We’ve come out with no injuries, we’ve won the game, the foreign boys have scored and played really well, and the game plan worked a treat.
“Everyone’s pleased in the change rooms. I don’t normally go in after the game, but they’re buzzing a bit in there – and rightly so. They’re through to a Cup final, they’re off the mark (in the A-League) and everyone is buoyed.”
Lowe denied Adelaide’s high-possession game style posed a threat to his weary team, pointing out the Reds only had one genuine shot on goal during the 90 minutes despite having 69% of total possession.
“They’re a super team, they play some great football and they ask some real questions of you,” Lowe said.
“After the three games in seven days, you give our guys some credit for working their socks off and limiting them to what opportunities they had.”
