It’s set to be a busy August for Perth Glory FC as it begins a three week match schedule starting with the exciting and inaugural Heritage Cup clash against the WA state team tonight.
The Glory squad, boasting 14-home grown players includes new signings Rostyn Griffiths, Rhys Williams and English defender Joseph Knowles.
Towering defender Dino Djulbic is also set to be in the mix who was thrilled with his two goals that helped catapult his team into the FFA Cup Round of 16 after the team’s 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar last week.
Djulbic chipped in with a brace in seven minutes after being on the end of two perfectly whipped in set pieces from Nebosja Marinkovic.
“It wasn’t an easy game,” the defensive stalwart said.
“We won in only our second time in Brisbane so we knew it was going to be a difficult game. We were a bit tired and excited that we won and I think deservedly so.”
The Glory veteran was pleased with his performance after an injury-plagued previous season.
“I felt comfortable. Obviously, last year I was injured most of the year, so hopefully injury-free this year and obviously helped that I scored a couple of goals.”
“My last full game I played was in November I think so it was a long time and I did do a lot of work in the off season to maintain my fitness so it paid off at the end of the day.”
Djulbic was also pleased with the performances of his teammates, particularly the midfield partnership of new signings Rostyn Griffiths and Rhys Williams.
“Rostyn is just a quality player so to have him back, him and Rhys in the middle, it’s unbelievable. They covered so much ground on the weekend; I think they both ran the most out of anyone so it helps us at the back.”
“We do have a good squad obviously there’s players missing still, Castro is still missing, so they are important players and we showed what we can do on the weekend so we’ll see what happens.”
After Wednesday night’s match against the WA state team, Glory will face off against Iraq in a friendly on August 25. The match is closed to the public but regular updates will be posted on the club’s twitter page.
The week after Glory kit up again to face Sydney FC in the Round of 16 on August 30 at Dorrien Gardens.
“We know they are a good team but we are all in pre-season so it’s hard to judge at the moment” Djulbic said.
They lost a few players you know so they got new players coming in so they are trying to do the same thing as us. We know they got a good attack so we will try and shut them down and hopefully score one more goal than they do.”
After making the last two Cup finals Djulbic is hopeful this year will be third time lucky.
“We do want to win this cup obviously being twice in the finals and losing but you got to beat all the A-League teams if you want to get to the final so I think get them out early to maybe have an easier game in the semis. It’s a good preparation for us as well (for the league) so we aren’t too worried.
Tonight’s match at Inglewood is at 7pm.
Entry to the Heritage Cup match is $15 with Glory members entitled to a $5 discount on presenting their 2016-17 membership card.
Registered Football West players will also receive a $5 discount by quoting their club name at the gate.
Fans are urged to arrive early to avoid queues as tickets are only available at the gate.
MATCH DETAILS
What: Heritage Cup
Who: WA State team v Perth Glory
When: August 17
Time: 7pm kick off
Where: Inglewood Stadium, Hamer Parade, Inglewood
