Head Coach David Zdrilic has backed his Glory side to bounce back strongly from last weekend’s opening-round defeat against Macarthur FC when they take on Wellington Phoenix at HBF Park on Saturday (kick-off at 6:45pm, tickets available HERE).
View his full pre-match media conference HERE.
A five-goal first-half blitz from the Bulls left the visitors reeling at Campbelltown Stadium before they regrouped and recovered after the break, conceding on just one further occasion and finding the net through Adam Bugarija.
And Zdrilic is confident that his squad have what it takes to build on the positives from that second half in what will be the club’s first home game of the season.
“After a loss like that, we need to focus on all the good things we did in pre-season and not a bad 45 minutes,” he said.
“We’ve got to get that out of our heads and go again.
“We’ve been here for three months, but we haven’t had a real home atmosphere.
“I know we played Melbourne City at Sam Kerr [Football Centre], but we haven’t played at our stadium.
“So for us it’s a great moment.
“Obviously now off the last result, we’re raring to go and show our true face.
“We still have a lot of positive energy within the group and are focusing on being the team at home that’s really on the front foot and always looking to be aggressive.
“That was something we weren’t able to get out last week.”
The Head Coach went on to admit that he did not see the Round One disappointment coming.
“That 45 minutes was a bit of a shock because during the whole pre-season, we didn’t have any real indications [of it] or any surprises,”
“We did get knocked out of the Cup, but overall, pre-season was really positive.
“It was that we weren’t even able to react in those first stages as it went one goal, two goals, three goals.
“At least in the second half we regrouped and we changed things… the second 45 was much better and that’s what we’ll be taking into this home game.
“We had to learn a lot in that first 45 minutes.
“It was a clear message, not an easy one to take, but I think the mood [within the squad this week] has been very positive.”
Zdrilic went on to confirm that Lachie Barr will be assessed over the next 48 hours to see if he is able to make a return from injury, but fellow-defender Josh Risdon’s knee injury will rule him out for several weeks.
Saturday’s opponents, meanwhile, opened their 2024/25 campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Western United last weekend, Kosta Barbarouses bagging their goal on the stroke of half time.
The New Zealand international, who has scored ten times in 30 appearances against Glory, is likely to be joined in Phoenix’s starting side this weekend by Japanese international midfielder Kazuki Nagasawa and there could also be a place for Iraqi defender Mohamed Al-Taay.
The men in yellow and black have enjoyed their long trips west in recent years, having not tasted defeat in Perth since 2020.
But overall, the so-called Distance Derby has been a close-fought affair, with Phoenix having claimed 21 wins to Glory’s 20.
In terms of potential Glory milestones, a clean sheet would be the club’s 100th in the A-League, while skipper Adam Taggart is poised to make his 150th career appearance in the competition.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2024/25 Season Round 2
Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix
HBF Park
Saturday 26 October 2024
Kick-off: 6:45pm WST
Perth Glory squad: 1.Oli SAIL (gk), 3.Anas HAMZAOUI, 4.Luke BODNAR, 6.Brandon O’NEILL, 9.David WILLIAMS, 11.Hiroaki AOYAMA, 12.Taras GOMULKA, 13.Cameron COOK (gk), 14.Nathanael BLAIR, 15.Zach LISOLAJSKI, 16.Adam BUGARIJA, 17.Jarrod CARLUCCIO, 21.Abdul FAISAL, 22.Adam TAGGART (c), 23.Cristian CAICEDO, 24.Andriano LEBIB, 26.Khoa NGO, 27.Will FRENEY, 28.Kaelan MAJEKODUNMI, 33.Luis CANGA
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 14.Nathanael BLAIR, 18.Cristian CAICEDO, 27.Will FRENEY
Outs: 10.Nikola MILEUSNIC
Unavailable: 5.Lachlan BARR (injured), 7.Nicholas PENNINGTON (injured), 8.Mustafa AMINI (injured), 10.Nikola MILEUSNIC (injured), 19.Josh RISDON (injured)
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk), 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Scott WOOTTON, 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 6. Tim PAYNE, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 11. Stefan COLAKOVSKI, 12. Mo AL-TAAY, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 19. Sam SUTTON, 24. Oskar VAN HATTUM, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH, 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD (gk), 36. Xuan LOKE, 39. Jayden SMITH, 41. Nathan WALKER
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 11. Stefan COLAKOVSKI (promoted), 36. Xuan LOKE (promoted)
Outs: 10. David BALL (omitted), 23. Luke SUPYK (omitted)
Unavailable: 8. Paulo RETRE (injured), 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES (injured), 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD (injured), 21. Marco ROJAS (injured)
#ONEGlory
