Richard Garcia is confident that his Glory squad can maintain the momentum built up from their two most recent performances in Friday’s clash with Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Stadium (kick-off at 3.05pm WST).
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The men in purple picked up four points from their two games against Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets respectively and another win in what is the club’s first ever meeting with the Bulls would see them climb back into the top six.
And the Head Coach likes the way his charges are tracking heading into the Good Friday fixture.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge away from home, but the boys are building quite nicely and I see the look in their eyes and their determination,” he said.
“Hopefully they’ve been a little bit refreshed after a bit of a busier period.
“It’s been nice to have a couple of days to let the players rest up and refresh.
“Another three games away from home… the lads are used to it now, but it’s still tough going away and spending Easter away from family and friends.
“But that’s neither here nor there.
“It’s about us now building from the last two performances and going to get some points away from home.”
Garcia went on to reveal that he could hand a Glory debut to German recruit Sebastian Langkamp who has now recovered after breaking a bone in his wrist.
“Sebastian is going on the road, ” he said.
“His wrist has had time to heal now and we’re not taking any risks with it.
“He’ll still wear a guard and things like that, but we’re comfortable that the bone has healed sufficiently.”
Macarthur FC, meanwhile, will head into the game seeking a third successive win and with striker Matt Derbyshire looking to add to his impressive tally of eight goals for the season.
And Garcia confirmed that his side will have to be on their toes to keep the former Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest man at bay.
“We’ve focused on defending the last few weeks and this week will be no different,” he said.
“We’ve got to make sure that we stop the supply of service to him [Derbyshire].
“He’s played at a very good level and is a dangerous player, but they have dangerous players everywhere.
“We’ll concentrate on what we do and how we go about stopping them and then figuring out and exploiting their weaknesses.”
In terms of squad news, injury victims Nick D’Agostino (hamstring) and Nick Sullivan (calf) won’t be involved for Glory and Jonathan Aspropotamitis will also miss out as he serves a one-match suspension having seen red against the Jets.
Macarthur FC Head Coach Ante Milicic, meanwhile, has a full-strength squad at his disposal.
Match Details
Friday, 2 April 2021
Macarthur FC v Perth Glory
Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown
Kick-Off: 3:05pm (WST)(6:05pm (AEST))
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referee 1: Kearney Robinson
Assistant Referee 2: Brad Wright
Fourth Official: Stephen Lucas
VAR: Kris Griffiths-Jones
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 2:30pm (WST), Sky Sport 7 (New Zealand), Kayo Sports (www.kayosports.com.au) and MyFootball Live App, Live Fast and Data Free for Telstra mobile customers
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #MACvPER
To purchase tickets visit www.a-league.com.au/tickets
Macarthur FC squad: 1.Adam FEDERICI (gk), 3.Antony GOLEC, 4.Benat ETXEBARRIA, 5.Mark MILLIGAN ©, 6.Aleksandar JOVANOVIC, 7.Ivan FRANJIC, 8.Denis GENREAU, 9.Milislav POPOVIC, 10.Loic PUYO, 11.Tommy OAR, 12.James MEREDITH, 15.Aleksandar SUSNJAR, 16. Nick SUMAN (gk), 21.Jake HOLLMAN, 22.Liam ROSE,23.Walter SCOTT 27.Matt DERBYSHIRE, 29.Antonis MARTIS, 31.Lachlan ROSE, 33.Markel SUSAETA
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 22.Liam ROSE (promoted), 23.Walter SCOTT (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 4.Sebastian LANGKAMP, 6.Osama MALIK, 8.Kosuke OTA, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 10.Andy KEOGH, 13.Luke BODNAR, 15.Brandon WILSON, 17.Diego CASTRO (C), 19.Callum TIMMINS, 20.Carlo ARMIENTO, 21.Bryce BAFFORD, 22.Josh RAWLINS, 23.Dane INGHAM, 24.Daniel STYNES, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 38.Ciaran BRAMWELL, 88.Neil KILKENNY
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 4.Sebastian LANGKAMP (new signing), 13.Luke BODNAR (promoted), 21.Bryce BAFFORD (promoted)
Outs: 5.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS (suspended – 1 week)
Unavailable: 7.Chris IKONOMIDIS (knee – 1-2 weeks), 16.Nick SULLIVAN (calf – 1 week), 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO (hamstring – 1 week)
#OneGlory
