Perth Glory youth are firing up for their semi final bout against Adelaide United at Clipsal Stadium on Sunday.
Perth Glory youth are firing up for their semi final bout against Adelaide United at Clipsal Stadium on Sunday.
After finishing second on the table in their most successful season in the National Youth League, Perth are preparing to take charge of their first ever finals berth.
Young superstar Dean Evans says that while this will be one of the biggest matches the squad has ever played in, they remain focussed and aren-t letting the pressure take over.
“I think for all the boys it-s going to be a really big game, but come Sunday we-re going to treat it like any other match.
“We won-t be thinking much about the next step, we-ll just be focussing 100 per cent on playing well.
“We-re not going to let the pressure get to us, we-re all level-headed and we just want to concentrate on the 90 minutes at hand.
“We-ve been working on our strength throughout the week and I-m sure we-ll give Adelaide a really good go on Sunday,” Evans said.
Perth will be bolstered by the return of Evans, whose brilliance in defence was sorely missed in last week-s match against the Newcastle Jets. Also coming back into the side is Steve Hesketh and Glen Trifiro, who have both had outstanding seasons.
Evans believes the addition of the talented trio will add depth to the squad who are facing a quality opponent.
“The three of us were out last week against the Jets and we probably missed a leader on the pitch.
“With our captain Steve back in he-ll get all the boys fired up for the game and with me and Glen back through the middle, it-ll give the squad that bit of stability we lacked.
“I think the players around us will gain a bit of confidence from that and hopefully we can show Adelaide what we can do,” Evans said.
Perth and Adelaide have been involved in some great battles this season, but after three encounters, the scoreboard is even with both teams having won a game each and the third ending in a draw.
The last time the two teams met was only three weeks ago when Perth valiantly beat the home side 1-0. Evans says the Glory youngsters will take confidence from that win heading into this weekend-s contest.
“Every time we play Adelaide it-s always a hard fought game and I don-t think this weekend will be any different.
“Were expecting nothing less from them than to come out hard from start to finish so we-ve just got to be on our toes and match that intensity,” Evans said.
“I think all the boys are just really excited. We-re ready for them and we can-t wait to get out there,” Evans said.
National Youth League: Semi-Final
Perth Glory v Adelaide United
Sunday, 14 March 2010 at Clipsal Stadium, Perth
Local kick-off: 3:00pm (6.00pm AEDT)
Referee: Kurt Ams
Perth Glory Youth squad: Tommy AMPHLETT, Ludovic BOI, Tim DOYLE (gk), Hayden DOYLE, Dean EVANS, Howard FONDYKE, Hanafi GHAZALI, Steve HESKETH (c), Mario MARCINKO, Sam MITCHINSON, Sebit OYET, Alex PEARSON (gk), Ryan PEARSON, Joshua RISDON, Glen TRIFIRO, Reece VITTIGLIA, Steve WALMSLEY
*two to be omitted*
Unavailable: Million BUTSHIIRE (knee – 1 week), Cameron EDWARDS (foot – 10 weeks), Brent GRIFFTHS (hamstring – 3 weeks), Andrija JUKIC (groin – indefinite), Anthony SKORICH (foot – indefinite)
Adelaide United Youth squad: Joel ALLWRIGHT, Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), Andrew CIARLA, Michael DOYLE, Kingsley FRANCIS, Evan KOSTOPOULOS, Codey LARKIN (gk), Dane MILOVANOVIC, Perry MITRIS, Francesco MONTEROSSO, Matthew MULLEN (c), Nick MUNRO (gk), Brett RAYNER, Inseob SHIN, Alex SUNASKY, Liam WOODING, Joe WRIGHT, Lloyd OWUSU (OA)
*three to be omitted*
Unavailable: Nathan FARRELL (ankle – season)
*Head-to-head*:
Played 3: Perth Glory wins 1, Adelaide United wins 1 (1 draw)
Previous meeting
Perth Glory 1, Adelaide United 0 at Hindmarsh Stadium, Round 25, February 2010