Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell says the club will use this Saturday’s home clash against the Newcastle Jets to elevate the squad back into the top six.
Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell says the club will use this Saturday-s home clash against the Newcastle Jets to elevate the squad back into the top six.
Perth slipped out of the top six after last week-s disappointing match against North Queensland Fury, but Mitchell insists Glory remain positive and will be out to put up a good performance in front of their faithful fans.
Perth has an excellent record against Newcastle this season and will be looking to end the Jets winning streak and ignite their own with a win on Boxing Day.
“This week is the first time that we’ve been out of the six and we want to get back in there.
“Newcastle has been flying so it’s going to be a tough game.
“They will come here with a bit of swagger and hopefully a bit over confident and we can use that, win, and get the fans supporting us again,” Mitchell said.
With Branko Jelic still out of the squad, Wayne Srhoj ruled out with a knee injury and Viktor Sikora in doubt after pulling up sore at training on Thursday, Mitchell will be faced with some selection dilemmas as he tries to find the winning formula.
“It’s time now where with a couple of injuries we are looking to change things a little bit.
“Other players want opportunities, though and will be looking forward to the chance,” he said.
While Mitchell concedes that Newcastle have been in great form and that his squad will be facing a tough opponent, he is still confident Glory can give their home crowd something to cheer about.
“In the early part of the season they (Newcastle) were conceding a lot of goals and were frustrated.
“Branko (Culina) has worked hard to get the team on the park doing the right things and they’ve built some momentum.
“Newcastle is a good side and it’s going to be a difficult game, but one we have to take to them and win,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell admits there has been some pressure on the squad in recent weeks, but says Perth still has plenty of good football to play and are still well within finals contention.
“We are a good football side and the last couple of weeks there has been a bit of pressure applied and we haven-t played as well.
“But we’ve got good enough and strong enough players with a lot of character to show that they are good enough to overcome that.
“We certainly feel that we can make the six and win our home games.
“We are sitting one point out of the finals with eight games to go, so who would dare to write us off?” Mitchell said.
Hyundai A-League 2009/10 – Rd 21
Perth Glory v Newcastle Jets
Saturday, 26 December 2009 at ME Bank Stadium
Local kick-off: 5.00pm AWST
Referee: Ben Williams
To purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com.au – click here.
Perth Glory Radio Broadcast Partner: 6PR – 882am www.6pr.com.au – click here to listen.
Live & exclusive TV broadcast on Fox Sports 2 and Sky Sports 1.
Perth Glory Squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Jimmy DOWNEY, 3.Jamie COYNE, 4.Andy TODD, 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 6.Chris COYNE, 7.Jacob BURNS (c), 8.Victor SIKORA, , 12.Scott NEVILLE, 13.Scott BULLOCH, 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17.Todd HOWARTH, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 20.Aleks VRTESKI (gk), 21.Mile STERJOVSKI, 23.Andrija JUKIC
*one to be omitted*
In: Jimmy DOWNEY (promoted), Andrjia JUKIC (promoted)
Out: Wayne SRHOJ (injured – knee)
Unavailable: Brent GRIFFITHS (hamstring – 1 week), Branko JELIC (ankle – 1 week), Anthony SKORICH (foot – 4 weeks)
Newcastle Jets squad: 1. Ben KENNEDY (gk), 2. Angelo COSTANZO, 3. Adam D-APUZZO, 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 6. Ben KANTAROVSKI, 7. Jin-Hyung SONG, 8. Matt THOMPSON (c), 9. Sasho PETROVSKI, 11. Tarek ELRICH, 12. Jobe WHEELHOUSE, 15. Sean ROONEY, 20. Neil YOUNG (gk), 22. Kaz PATAFTA, 25. Labinot HALITI, 26. Ali ABBAS
*one to be omitted*
In: 6. Ben KANTAROVSKI (returns from suspension)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: 13. Shaun ONTONG (Achilles – indefinite), 14. Michael BRIDGES (hamstring 1-2 weeks), 17. Fabio VIGNAROLI (knee – indefinite), 18. Marko JESIC (knee – indefinite)
*Head-to-Heads: Played 14: Perth Glory wins 7, Newcastle Jets wins 3 (4 draws)
