It was a busy weekend for Perth Glory Youth sides, and both sides put in fantastic performances, but with mixed results.
First up on Friday night, a young Glory side took on Sorrento in the first round of the QBE PS4NPLWA Night Series. In a tight game the young side played superbly and were unlucky not to come away with a win, but a goal from Quinncroft on the hour won it for Sorrento.
They almost sent it to extra time late, but Ollie Annis’ shot was well saved and Michael Domfeh’s follow up shot flashed wide.
Glory Coach John Gibson said he was excited the way the young side performed against a strong and experienced Sorrento side. “Super happy the way the younger group performed against Sorrento, but it doesn’t surprise us because they have been working hard for a long period,” he explained.
“They (Sorrento) are a match-hardened side, who only just missed out on the PS4 NPLWA West Australian Top Four Finals last season.
“We thought we played some very good football and had chances that we should have capitalized on – but there were plenty of positive signs to take away from the game – we were super competitive in this game.”
Skipper Jack Leech echoed the coaches’ words. “I thought it was an outstanding performance from us, considering the age of our team in comparison to Sorrento,” he said.
“I thought we put up a great fight and actually controlled the game, we managed to move the ball quickly around Sorrento to avoid the physicality they imposed on us. It was a very promising performance for the upcoming NPL season.”
Then it was onto Sunday, where the Glory youngsters leapfrogged Adelaide United to finish third in the Foxtel National Youth League Conference A table with a 2-0 win at Dorrien Gardens in the final game of the season.
Gibson said it was warm conditions but they fought hard to get the result. “We finished the season well and won four of the last five games, so to miss out on a spot in the final by three points is a disappointment – the group is super annoyed as we have missed a great opportunity to be playing in Gosford next Saturday against Sydney FC, he explained.
“We were really pleased with the way the group has responded from our poor start to the season, our first game of the year has had a tremendous impact on our overall season but our backend of the season has showed the real quality of this group”.
“We exposed the entire playing group in the NYL season and we look forward to the NPL starting in a month’s time.”
Glory keeper Nick Feely was in good form between the sticks and he said it was a good win and was also happy with a clean sheet. “Obviously a great way to finish the season with a win and a clean sheet,” he said.
“It shows the improvement of the group under the guidance of John, Bobby, Danny and Richard over the course of 10 rounds to go from those first few results to the final few performances.
“Disappointing to not make the finals but I think early performances cost us in that regard. But overall a good team performance with lots of positives to take out of it.”
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