They may be facing a third game in the space of just seven days and taking on the unbeaten league leaders away from home, but Glory’s Liberty A-League Head Coach Alex Epakis is bullish about his side’s prospects of downing Sydney FC at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday (kick-off at 2.05pm WST).
(Watch the full pre-match media conference, which also featured forward Susan Phonsongkham, HERE).
Wednesday’s draw with Canberra United saw Glory move level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle Jets as their encouraging start to the campaign continued.
And Epakis sees no reason why his charges cannot force their way into second spot by downing the in-form Sky Blues.
“I certainly feel like we have the players to get some type of result against Sydney,” he said, “and although it might be a different eleven to the Adelaide or Canberra game, I’ve still got 100% confidence that the group can do what they need to do.
“I’ll back these players to the mountains to put on a good show tomorrow.”
While quick to acknowledge Sydney’s impressive start to the campaign, Epakis feels his own charges are also travelling well, with their performance levels continuing to move in a positive trajectory.
“Sydney are obviously in good form at the moment and have had consistency in their squad over the last few seasons, so a lot of their group is familiar with each other,” he said.
“They’re top at the moment because they’ve been the most consistent team in the competition so far.
“But in saying that, I also still believe that we have a lot to offer and we know we are improving in each game.
“Now we’ve had two games to get the cobwebs out after the three weeks off, I don’t see any reason why we should not back ourselves to get some sort of result against Sydney.
“There will be a few players that get an opportunity to start tomorrow and hopefully they’ll bring a different x-factor and different energy and enthusiasm which can help the group go to another level.”
In terms of squad news, Demi Koulizakis (knee) will again be unavailable for Glory, but Epakis is likely to have the rest of his squad available.
The last eight games between the Glory and the Sky Blues have produced an even split of four wins apiece, with one of those victories for the women in purple coming in their most recent trip to the Harbour City in February 2020.
This year, the hosts have won four of their five games to date, with Mackenzie Hawkesby helping herself to four goals.
#OneGlory
