Perth Glory youth will go head-to-head with Sydney FC at Parramatta Stadium this weekend in a crucial clash in the lead up to the season play-offs.
Perth Glory youth will go head-to-head with Sydney FC at Parramatta Stadium this weekend in a crucial clash in the lead up to the season play-offs.
After missing out on an opportunity to secure top spot last weekend, the youngsters will go into the match all guns blazing, as they look to retain their top four position.
Rising star Glen Trifiro says that although the last few weeks have been tough on the squad, the boys are set to perform at their best this weekend.
“It has been a tough couple of games with a few results going against us, especially ones where we thought we should have wrapped up the points.
“We know this week is a very important game for us and we-ve been training harder than ever. Everyone is really keen to get out of this slump that we-re in,” Trifiro said.
The talented midfielder says while the boys have been playing good football, defensive lapses at critical moments in the past few matches have consequently led to some poor results.
“To play so well and not walk away with the points is a bit tough to get a hold of.
“You can-t really put it down to anything in particular, but I think one of our main problems has been conceding goals. It-s those little lapses defensively in the whole squad that has caused us to concede,” the 20-year-old said.
Looking forward and improving those mistakes has been the main focus for the youth team this week. Trifiro says the boys have gone back to basics and have been working hard to target areas they need to smooth over.
“This week we-ve done a lot of work on our positioning defensively, closing the ball down and getting on the right side of players.
“There is no doubt there will be a much improved performance out there on Sunday,” Trifiro said.
The young gun has been a fantastic addition to the glory set up this season with his silky skills and dynamic vision. Trifiro will be out to impress this weekend as he returns to his hometown and will be looking for a repeat of his stellar performance last time the two teams met in Perth.
“I love Perth; it-s been a great move for me. I-ve improved a lot as a player football wise and physically as well.
“The opportunities the youth boys and I have been given to play with the first team are going to help us. We can work hard together as a squad but obviously training and playing with those that are at the top level is going to improve us, our mind set and how quickly we think and how quickly we execute things,” he said.
With the competition heating up and only a few points separating teams, Trifiro is adamant Perth will bounce back against fifth placed Sydney. He believes the squad is as confident as ever that they can come home with the points.
“We-ve got a terrific team this year and we-ve all worked hard together.
“It-s tough when the competition is so close that winning eight or nine games isn-t enough to pull you away from the pack so I think we have been disappointed lately but at the same time we-ve been playing some good stuff so you can-t take that away from us as a squad.
“We all know the importance of this game, we-ve all had a look at what can happen if we don-t do our best and be successful this weekend and I-m sure that no one wants to drop out of the four and lose hopes of being in finals contention.
“We-re confident and I-m sure every one is going to have the right mind set come Sunday,” Trifiro said.
National Youth League: Round 23
Sydney FC v Perth Glory
Sunday, 7 February 2010 at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta
Local Kick-Off: 2:00pm
Referee: Kurt Ams
Perth Glory NYL radio broadcast partner: 990am 6RPH – Information Radio
Sydney FC squad: Nenad VEKIC (gk), Steve TIBBETS, Mitchell SPEER, Joseph GIBBS, Sam GALLAGHER, Dimitri PETRATOS, Hussein AKIL, Iain RAMSAY, Joel CHIANESE, Tim MCGOWAN, Ray MILLER, Luke AUSTIN, Mark PULLMAN (gk), Sam MUNRO (c), Anthony GOLEC, Adam CASEY (OA), Justin HAYWARD
Unavailable: Nil
Perth Glory Squad: Tommy AMPHLETT, Ludovic BOI, Tim DOYLE (gk), Hayden DOYLE, Cameron EDWARDS, Dean EVANS, Howard FONDYKE, Brent GRIFFITHS, Steve HESKETH, Mario MARCINKO, Sam MITCHINSON, Ryan PEARSON, David PRICE, Joshua RISDON, Anthony SKORICH, Glen TRIFIRO, Reece VITTIGLIA, Francis SOALE (gk)
*three to be omitted*
Unavailable: Million BUTSHIIRE (knee – 5 weeks)
