Glory’s 114-day wait for a competitive game will come to an end on Tuesday night, with Melbourne Victory providing the opposition in what promises to be an intriguing FFA Cup Round of 32 clash at Dorrien Gardens.
Tony Popovic’s new-look squad has come together well during pre-season, securing comfortable friendly wins over Perth SC, Gwelup Croatia and the WA State Team, while also performing admirably in a 1-0 defeat against EPL giants Chelsea.
And midfielder Neil Kilkenny is now looking forward to locking horns with the Hyundai A-League champions in a game with something tangible at stake.
“Victory are a good team, we know that,” he said. “They’ve been one of the most successful teams in the A-League and in the Cup, but we’ve got a new manager, a new-look team and a new way of playing and we’re really looking forward to the challenge and can’t wait to get started.
“Coming to a smaller ground like Dorrien Gardens, where the fans are on top of you, will probably make it more difficult for Victory, so hopefully there’ll be a good turnout from our fans and they’ll really get behind us.
“The manager has drummed into us what he wants and everyone is looking to prove themselves. He [Tony Popovic] demands the best every day and it’s brilliant for a team to have someone like that who wants the best for us and wants us to win every game.
“Hopefully that’s exactly what we’ll do on Tuesday night.”
Victory, meanwhile, have enjoyed two pre-season outings to date, downing local opposition in the form of Oakleigh Cannons and Port Melbourne and Head Coach Kevin Muscat is likely to include a number of new recruits in his squad for Tuesday evening.
Although the game will come too early for Japanese marquee signing Keisuke Honda, former Glory defender Storm Roux may well feature, along with Nick Ansell, Corey Brown and new German import, Georg Niedermeier.
The game will mark the third time that the two sides have met in this competition, the navy-and-whites running out 2-0 winners in the 2015 Final having been knocked out by Glory in the last eight a year earlier.
Members and fans are urged to book their tickets in advance HERE to avoid queuing at the gates.
Match Details
* FFA Cup Round of 32
* Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory
* Dorrien Gardens
* Kick off: 6.30pm, with Gates opening at 5.30pm
* The game will be decided on the night, via extra-time and/or penalties if necessary
* Entry is via the Italian Club Entrance ONLY
* Picnic chairs, rugs and umbrellas may NOT be brought into the venue
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