Glory Head Coach Tony Popovic believes that the international break has assisted his side’s preparations for Sunday’s home clash with Central Coast Mariners.
The squad have trained normally despite not having a fixture last weekend, with Diego Castro taking a full part in the sessions as he closes in on a return to full fitness.
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But although Popovic is adamant that the ladder leaders are in a good place as they look to extent their unbeaten start to the season into a fifth game, he was quick to warn of the threat posed by Mike Mulvey’s men.
“We’ve had a week now without a match,” he said, “which has given us a welcome opportunity to get some good training into the group and to keep working on our game which is not always easy when you have a lot of travel and are just doing recovery sessions.
“So it was a good period for us to work hard and hopefully that will show in our performance in Sunday.
“After Round 2, the Mariners were being talked about as being able to challenge and make a real statement this year.
“Now, two weeks later, they’re bottom and people are saying that they’re not up to it.
“But we are under no illusions about what we’re up against. We are up against a dangerous side who have good players and we’ll make sure that we prepare well.
“If we prepare well and perform to our capabilities in front of our home fans, then we can get another three points. If we don’t, it’ll be a very dangerous game.
“I’m sure they’ll come with a mindset of being very resilient and trying to improve upon their recent performances.”
In terms of Castro’s chances of making a first appearance of the season, meanwhile, Popovic confirmed that the Spaniard will continue to be assessed across Friday and Saturday’s training sessions.
“We’ll have to wait and see whether he’s involved in the game, whether he starts, or is on the bench, or whether he has to wait another week,” he said.
“We’ll know a lot more after today and tomorrow.
“He’s been doing all the sessions with the rest of the team these last ten days, but we want to make sure that he can make a difference and that we’re helping him by not throwing him in too early for the sake of one match.”
The Mariners, who will head West seeking their first win of the season and to break a seven-game winless streak at nib Stadium, have been boosted by the return from injury of skipper Matt Simon.
The visitors’ defence is expected to feature two familiar faces in the form of ex-Glory duo Jack Clisby and Antony Golec, while attacking midfielder Andrew Hoole will be hoping for a repeat of the stunning goal he scored during the Mariners’ most recent trip to Perth in Round 22 of last season.
Kick off for Sunday’s Hyundai A-League game is at 4pm and don’t forget that as part of a huge double-header, our Westfield W-League side will then be in action against reigning champions Melbourne City at 6.45pm.
Click HERE to grab your tickets.
Sunday, 25 November 2018
Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 4:00PM (Local) (7:00PM (AEDT))
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Arvin Shanmuganathan
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
VAR: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash tag #PERvCCM
To purchase tickets, click HERE.
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jason DAVIDSON, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 9.Andy KEOGH, 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 17.Diego CASTRO, 19.Chris IKONOMIDIS, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 27.JUANDE, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 88.Neil KILKENNY
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Brendon SANTALAB (returns from injury), 16.Tomislav MRCELA (returns from suspension), 17.Diego CASTRO (returns from injury)
Outs: 25.Walter SCOTT, 23.Scott NEVILLE (ankle – 1-2 weeks)
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3.Jack CLISBY, 4.Jake McGING, 5.Antony GOLEC, 6.Tom HIARIEJ, 7.Andrew HOOLE, 8.Michael McGLINCHEY, 11.Connor PAIN, 12.Adam PEARCE (gk), 13.Aiden O’NEILL, 15.Kye ROWLES, 18.Matt MILLAR, 19.Matt SIMON (c), 20.Kalifa CISSE, 22.Jacob MELLING, 23.Mario SHABOW, 25.Jordan MURRAY, 44.Ross McCORMACK
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 4.Jake McGING (promoted), 6.Tom HIARIEJ (promoted), 19.Matt SIMON (return from injury),
Outs: 10.Tommy OAR (knee)
Unavailable: 2.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS (ACL), 21.Corey GAMEIRO (calf)
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