Seeing the NPL WA title slip from their grasp last weekend was nothing short of gut-wrenching for Glory’s PGFC Academy First Team.
But John Gibson’s side have no time to feel sorry for themselves because Saturday will see them take on the side that pipped them to top spot, Perth SC, in the semi-finals of the McInerney Top Four Cup.
Victory at Dorrien Gardens would book Glory a place in the Final on September 8th, while defeat would see them given another bite at the cherry in the form of a midweek elimination final against the winner of the other semi-final between Cockburn City and Bayswater City.
And with so much still to play for, Gibson insists that his young charges are fully re-focused.
“The mental challenge for our players is to lift after Saturday,” he said, “and I’m confident that they’ll do that.
“We’ll be going all out to win, as we always do and bringing the same aggressive mentality that has been a key part of what we’ve done this year.
“We’ll have to make changes to our side once again, as we have throughout the season, but that means there’ll be opportunities for players to come in and prove themselves on a big stage in a crunch game.
“Perth SC are in really good form and we’ll go into the game as the underdogs, but we’ve had two really good games against them this season and I’m sure Saturday’s clash won’t be any different.”
Henry Hore (left) and Callum Timmins (right) in action against Subiaco
Glory’s defeat at Subiaco was their first in 16 games and even more remarkably, the first time this season that they have failed to score.
They also completed the double over Perth SC during the regular season, an Adrian Madaschi own-goal separating the two sides at Dorrien Gardens in the opening game of the campaign and goals from Daniel Stynes and Yagoub Mustafa then securing a 2-0 victory for Glory in Round 14.
In terms of early team news, meanwhile, Luke Bodnar will unfortunately miss out after sustaining a neck injury against Subiaco and Callum Timmins and Bayley Brown-Montgomery are both suspended. Ollie Annis and Michael Domfeh, however, will be available after serving their respective suspensions, as will Walter Scott who returns from international duty.
Michael Domfeh
Kick-off time at Dorrien Gardens on Saturday is 3pm and it would be great to see as many members and fans as possible getting along to support the lads.
If you can’t make it, however, you can access our Twitter coverage HERE.
#OneGlory
Photos courtesy of Tom McCarthy and Vision Inspired Photography
