Perth Glory captain Jacob Burns has identified the upcoming trifecta of games against Queensland opponents as a crucial time for his club to consolidate its position in the top six.
Perth Glory captain Jacob Burns has identified the upcoming trifecta of games against Queensland opponents as a crucial time for his club to consolidate its position in the top six.
Starting with the Brisbane Roar at home this Sunday, the Glory then head to the sunshine state for matches against North Queensland and Gold Coast in what is shaping as a vital road double just before Christmas.
A three-match unbeaten run has seen Perth consolidate their current finals position however they are determined to press on and achieve a higher ranking than their current fifth placing.
Burns however is well aware of the threat posed by Brisbane, Perth having won just two of their 13 encounters, plus the difficult task awaiting them in Queensland after coming back empty handed on their last sunshine swing.
“We’ve been strong at home but Brisbane are no pushover,” Burns said.
“They’re a bit up and down this season but I think that they’ve found their groove and had a good result in their last game,” he said referring to the Roar’s 4-1 victory over a 10-man Wellington side in new coach Ange Postecoglou’s best win since taking over from Frank Farina.
“For us it-s about wining our home games and then picking up some stuff away. You then put yourself in good stead.”
The Glory showed the type of resilience needed to make their first Hyundai A-League finals series by holding the in-form Mariners to a 0-0 draw at Bluetongue Stadium last Friday night.
They-ll be keen to make good of their chances this week after being unlucky not to have hit the back of the next against Central Coast. Livewire Victor Skiora and hard working midfielder Adriano Pellegrino had good shots saved while marquee man Mile Sterjovski saw his effort rebound off the upright with Danny Vukovic beaten.
Glory-s last outing at home saw them dispatch then league leagues Sydney FC in a 2-0 result and will again be looking to take maximum points to maintain pressure in the race towards the finals.
“Melbourne have started to pull away (at the top of the table) and it’s all bunched after that (but) in our position, if we can get a few more results over this lead in to the Christmas period then come January time, we should be up there and really pushing.
“That’s where we want to be, finals football,” Burns said.
