Perth Glory Coach Dave Mitchell will thrust new signings Chris Coyne and Branko Jelic into action on Saturday as the club continues their pre-season build-up with a clash against North Queensland Fury at Hyundai Stadium in Mandurah.
Perth Glory Coach Dave Mitchell will thrust new signings Chris Coyne and Branko Jelic into action on Saturday as the club continues their pre-season build-up with a clash against North Queensland Fury at Hyundai Stadium in Mandurah.
Jelic has been training with his new team mates for a fortnight, Coyne only a week, and Mitchell is keen to give them game time with the regular season fast approaching.
The Glory has a number of players with niggling injuries who won-t be risked in the match including Socceroos midfielder Jacob Burns who has a slight hamstring strain, Jimmy Downey with a cork while Andrija Jukic has a calf strain.
“We-ll be looking to do a few things and seeing what different players can do in combinations with others that they may not have played alongside before,” said Mitchell.
“We-ve got Chris and Branko to come in and we-ll give some of the young boys a full game as well.
“Not everyone will be able to take part so we-ll look at different permeations which can work for us,” Mitchell said.
After two tough matches against English Premier League opponents the clash against Fury will give Mitchell a clearer understanding of where the Glory sit in terms of preparation for the season which kicks off in three weeks.
“They-re in our league and we saw them the other night and they were organised and hard to play through so it will be a good test for us,” Mitchell said.
This is the second match that Perth has played in Mandurah following a successful event last season where they played out an entertaining 1-1 draw against Newcastle Jets.
Former Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler is expected to play at least a half for the Fury after making his Australian debut on Wednesday night where he scored from the penalty spot.
“We enjoyed our time in Mandurah last year and there was great support down there and I hope that the supporters can turn out again, I-m sure they-ll be treated to a good game.”
Perth players will wear black armbands in a mark of respect for local football identity Tibor Besci (72) who sadly passed away on Wednesday evening. Mr Besci spent his final few hours doing what he loved, attending a Perth Glory match at Members Equity Stadium, and our thoughts are with his family at this time.
