Tony Popovic has stressed that Glory’s destiny lies in their own hands ahead of Sunday’s clash with Newcastle Jets at HBF Park (click HERE for tickets).
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Should second-placed Sydney FC fail to win their derby clash with Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday, a victory over the Jets the following day would be enough to secure the Premiers’Plate for Glory.
But the club’s Head Coach was quick to point out that his side’s prospects of securing their first silverware of the Hyundai A-League era are not reliant on the Sky Blues dropping points.
“We control what happens here and we don’t need to rely on anyone else or any other results,” he said.
“The result [of the Sydney derby] means very little to us. If we get the job done, that will take care of itself.
“Last week we went into the game against Central Coast after a defeat and with Sydney FC doing what you expect big clubs to do and putting pressure on us.
“The players then responded by how they performed.
“When you saw those performances, there is nothing to fear.
“We respect the opponent, we trust ourselves and believe in our football and we don’t have to worry about what someone else is doing.
“We just have to take care of business ourselves and perform well which will give us a better chance of getting three points.
“If we do that, we don’t need to look over our shoulder.”
Popovic went on to confirm that Chris Ikonomidis is recovering well from the shoulder injury he sustained against the Mariners and could return to the squad as early as next Thursday when Glory face Sydney FC at Kogarah.
Newcastle Jets, meanwhile, will make the long trip west trying to keep their faint finals hopes alive by securing back-to-back wins having edged out Western Sydney last weekend.
Ernie Merrick’s men are seven points adrift of the last finals berth which is currently occupied by Melbourne City and therefore need the Victorians to slip up in their home clash with Adelaide on Saturday and then claim all three points themselves at HBF Park.
The New South Welshmen, however, have only won two of their last 22 meetings with Glory and emerged victorious from just three of their 20 trips to WA.
Match Details
Sunday, 14 April 2019
Perth Glory v Newcastle Jets
HBF Park, Perth
Kick-Off: 5:00PM (Local) (7:00PM (AEST))
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
VAR: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash tag #PERvNEW
Perth Glory Squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 3.Jason DAVIDSON, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 9.Andy KEOGH, 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 13.Matthew SPIRANOVIC, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 17.Diego CASTRO, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 21.Jacob ITALIANO, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 23.Scott NEVILLE, 27.JUANDE, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 88.Neil KILKENNY
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 21.Jacob ITALIANO (promoted), 22.Fabio FERREIRA (promoted), 16.Tomislav MRCELA (promoted)
Outs: 19.Chris IKONOMIDIS (shoulder injury – 1 week)
Unavailable: 2.Alex GRANT (abdominal injury – 1 week)
Newcastle Jets Squad: 1.Glen MOSS (gk), 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (c), 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI, 6.Steven UGARKOVIC, 7.Dimi PETRATOS, 9.Roy O¹DONOVAN, 10.Ronald VARGAS, 11.Kwabena APPIAH, 13.Ivan VUJICA, 14.Kaine SHEPPARD, 17.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 18.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS, 20.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 22.Lachlan JACKSON, 23.Matt RIDENTON, 24.Joe CHAMPNESS, 32.Angus THURGATE, 44.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Kwabena APPIAH (promoted), 22.Lachlan JACKSON (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 3.Jason HOFFMAN (ankle – TBC)
#OneGlory
