Perth Glory will be looking for back-to-back victories when they travel to Dorrien Gardens to take on Perth Soccer Club in Week Seven of the PS4 National Premier League WA.
The Glory youngsters put in a great performance in their 2-1 win against Subiaco last week, and coach John Gibson said it was a reward for all their hard work.
“The playing group have been fantastic this season, both on match days and training, and I was really pleased to see them get some reward for their dedication and effort,” Gibson said.
“We’ve probably played better than that this season and haven’t got the right result, but the young group are maturing and improving with each performance.
“But we do know we have to improve in certain areas, and the players are working tirelessly to do this.
“We had a number of players returning from injury last week, and it was great to see them back in the squad.
It was also great to see Jack Iredale return from a third knee injury, and it was pleasing to see him play 60 minutes in the Under 20’s last week.”
Perth SC are coached by former Perth Glory midfielder Gareth Naven, and while Gibson said the trip to the 20 times Premier League Champions this week is daunting, he affirmed the players are looking forward to the challenge.
“They (Perth) have been the benchmark in WA football for a number of years, and it will be another huge challenge for the playing group,” Gibson said.
“Gareth has assembled a talented squad, but we head there full of confidence and having played some entertaining games against them in recent seasons, I’m sure it will be the same this weekend.
“We have a new look side this season, but like I said we are maturing as a group with every game.
“We are relishing the challenge of playing one of biggest local clubs in the competition this week.”
Defender Ross Millard said it was good to get their first win of the season.
“Yes it was good to get off the mark last weekend in terms of the win,” Millard said.
“However it was a frustrating game to be a part of due to having most of the possession and chances but to Subiaco’s credit they defended really well and fought right to the end.
“We came in at half time really disappointed to be 1-0 down, however the boys dug deep and got the result we felt we deserved.”
Millard said Saturday’s game is a huge test, especially with Perth coming off three defeats, but the defender is confident they can get a result.
“No matter what form they’re in, Perth will always be a big test for whoever plays them,” he said.
“They have a strong squad with talent across the park but we feel in ourselves that we can match them and hopefully go one better and get the win.
“Over the course of the first six rounds, we probably haven’t been rewarded with our positive performances so we’re looking to put another really strong performance this weekend.”
The match against Perth SC kicks off at 3pm at Dorrien Gardens on Saturday afternoon.
