A sharp week on the training ground and having a virtually fully-fit squad at his disposal have left Glory Head Coach Kenny Lowe with some tough selection decisions to make ahead of Saturday’s Round 5 clash with Adelaide United.
While long-term absentees Marc Warren, Joel Chianese and Daniel Stynes unfortunately remain sidelined, every other member of the squad is fit.
And with competition for places well and truly hotting up, Lowe admitted that he has been left with plenty to ponder.
“We’ve had a really good week on the training ground,” he said, “with the lads performing well and putting their hands up for selection.
“Obviously we had Mitch [Nichols] come back from suspension last week, our injury-replacement players are getting right up there in terms of their fitness levels now and in general, we’ve got a lot more game time into people’s legs.
“So I’ve got a real headache in terms of picking the squad for the Adelaide game, but it’s not the kind of headache I’ll be complaining about!”
In terms of the opposition, meanwhile, Lowe is expecting the Reds to provide a stern test as they look to end a three-game winless run against Glory which included a 5-0 hammering at Coopers Stadium in February.
“With a new coach in charge, they’ll pose a different challenge,” he said, “but from what we’ve seen of them so far this season, they are pretty compact and well organised.
“They also have some serious attacking threats that we’ll need to be aware of and I’m sure it’ll be another good game to watch.
“It’ll be great to be back home at nib Stadium and I know the lads are really looking forward to it.
“The atmosphere at the Mariners game a couple of weeks ago was fantastic and hopefully it’ll be the same again on Saturday night.”
Glory took seven points from the South Australians last season, but the Reds’ overall record at nib Stadium is a decent won, featuring five wins and five draws from 16 visits.
And Marco Kurz’s side have already tasted victory on their travels this season, downing Brisbane Roar 2-1 in Round Two courtesy of two goals in the last two minutes from Ryan Kitto and Johan Absalonsen.
Lowe’s men, however, have only been beaten once in their last nine home games and only failed to score at home once during the whole of last season.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 7pm (WST) and tickets are available here: http://bit.ly/2xMwoMq
Or you can pick up your great value Glory membership here: http://bit.ly/1rJSZUu
Match Details
Saturday, 4 November 2017
Perth Glory v Adelaide United
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 7:00 PM
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
Video Assistant Referee: Mathew Cheeseman
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 501 from 6:45pm (WST) and Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: myfootballnation.com (6PR), ABC Radio Perth, ABC Adelaide, ABC Radio WA, ABC Radio SA, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Listen App – A-League Live.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvADL
Perth Glory squad: 2.Alex GRANT, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 6.Mitch NICHOLS, 8.Xavi TORRES, 9.Andy KEOGH (c), 13 Nick FEELY (gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 16.Joseph MILLS, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18. Andreu GUERAO 19.Joe KNOWLES, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 22.Adam TAGGART, 23.Scott NEVILLE, 29.Jeremy WALKER, 33.Liam REDDY (gk)
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Jacob POSCOLIERO (promoted), 29.Jeremy WALKER (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 25.Daniel STYNES (hamstring – 5-7 weeks), 7.Joel CHIANESE (collar bone – 5-7 weeks), 3.Marc WARREN (ankle 8-10 weeks)
Adelaide United squad: 1.Daniel MARGUSH (gk), 2.Michael MARRONE, 4.Ben WARLAND, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.ISAÍAS (c), 10.Karim MATMOUR, 12.Mark OCHIENG, 14.George BLACKWOOD, 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 17.Nikola MILEUSNIC, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 23.Jordan ELSEY, 24.Jordan O’DOHERTY, 25.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS, 28.Kristin KONSTANDOPOULOS, 29.Ryan STRAIN, 37.Daniel ADLUNG
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 28.Kristin KONSTANDOPOULOS (promoted), 29.Ryan STRAIN (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 5.Taylor REGAN (ankle – 6-7 weeks), 6.Vince LIA (knee – 2-3 weeks), 9.Baba DIAWARA (hamstring – 1-2 weeks), 11.Johan ABSALONSEN (thigh – 3-4 weeks), 21.Tarek ELRICH (knee – long term), 22.Ersan GÜLÜM (lung – 3-4 weeks)
#CREATEDESTINY
