Perth Glory will be out to make it three wins a row under Interim Head Coach Kenny Lowe when they take on ladder-leaders Brisbane Roar this Friday night at nib Stadium.
Perth Glory will be out to make it three wins a row under Interim Head Coach Kenny Lowe when they take on ladder-leaders Brisbane Roar this Friday night at nib Stadium.
Glory-s 3-0 win over Melbourne Heart last Friday was the side-s most comprehensive win under the new manager with Adrian Zahra scoring his second goal of the season and Shane Smeltz adding two more goals to his impressive Hyundai A-League goal scoring record of 75 (including finals).
Zahra-s goal came after cutting in from the left-hand side of the pitch, skipping past two Heart defenders and burying the ball past goal keeper Andrew Redmayne, while Smeltz- brace of goals came in just 16 minutes of football after making his return from a 5-week ankle injury.
Zahra, Smeltz and young full-backs, Riley Woodcock and Matty Davies all made Four Four Two-s team of the week, underlying Glory-s impressive all-round performance against John van’t Schip-s side.
Brisbane Roar suffered a surprise 2-1 loss at Suncorp Stadium against an undermanned Adelaide United outfit last week and will be hungry to get back in the winners- circle.
Brisbane will have to deal with the loss of defenders Ivan Franjic (injury) and Diogo Ferreira (suspension), while chief playmaker, Thomas Broich, was named in the team but is likely to play under some duress after picking up a corked knee during the Adelaide match.
“I’m optimistic (he’ll play) because he’s got great powers of recovery,” Mulvey told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday. “He’s got great self -belief. He knows his body better than anybody else, and he tells me he’s a good chance.”
However, the Roar will receive a boost to their side with the return of Besart Berisha to their starting line-up. Berisha came off the bench against Adelaide to play just over half an hour of football after missing the previous three weeks. He scored his sixth goal of the season and will be out to improve on that tally when he plays 90 minutes against Perth.
Brisbane defeated Perth 1-0 in front of 12,308 fans at Suncorp Stadium last time they met in Round 8 but the Glory will field a vastly different side from that day with Steve Pantelidis, Ryan Edwards, Jamie Maclaren and Ryo Nagai all missing through various circumstances.
Pantelidis and Ryo have both moved on from the club while Ryan Edwards is representing the Young Socceroos in Oman as part of the AFC Under-22 Championships.
Maclaren was originally part of the same Young Socceroos squad but had to withdrawal from the team due to a groin injury. The young striker has since recovered from that injury and has trained strongly with the team throughout the week, but the FFA has not given clearance for the 21-year-old to play against Brisbane.
In a major boost for Perth, International Marquee William Gallas will make his long awaited return from a calf injury. Gallas has missed the past seven games so it remains to be seen if he will start or be used off the bench, but either way, he-s inclusion is sure to have a positive influence on the playing group.
Lowe was not giving anything away when asked about Gallas- potential role in Friday-s match.
“He wants to play. He-s got a great work ethic in the training environment. He-s pushed himself really hard in the last two weeks to get to this level.”
“I don-t think he-s 100%. I don-t think he-ll last the whole game but he-ll definitely be involved and I-m sure he-ll enjoy himself,” Lowe said from Thursday-s practice session.
“Big games demand big players so I imagine he-ll be in and around the 11.”
These two teams played out a controversial 2011-12 Grand Final which saw Besert Berisha awarded a penalty kick in the dying minutes of the match after receiving the faintest of touches from Liam Miller (now his team mate at Brisbane). That penalty kick decision still divides fans to this day …
With Perth only having lost once at home this season and Brisbane having won their past four away matches – it promises to be a cracking match.
INJURY UPDATE
Jack Duncan – 1-2 weeks (National Duties)
Ryan Edwards – 1-2 weeks (National Duties)
Travis Dodd – Indefinite (Knee)
Scott Jamieson – Indefinite (Achilles)
Jamie Maclaren – 1-2 weeks (National Duties)
Friday, 17 January 2014
Perth Glory v Brisbane Roar
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 6:45pm local (9:45pm AEDT)
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
TV Broadcast: 9:30pm (AEDT) Live and exclusive coverage on FOX Sports 1HD and Delayed Broadcast Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand).
Radio Broadcast: 720 ABC Perth, ABC Local Radio WA, Sport FM (Perth), 612 ABC Brisbane, ABC Local Radio QLD Grandstand Digital and Online/Mobile phone app
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvBRI
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets
Perth Glory Squad: 1.Daniel VUKOVIC (GK), 2.Jack CLISBY, 3.Brandon O-NEILL, 6.Cameron EDWARDS, 7.Jacob BURNS, 9.Shane SMELTZ, 11.Adrian ZAHRA, 14.Steven McGARRY, 15.Isaka CERNAK, 16.Sidnei SCIOLA MORAES, 17.Chris HAROLD, 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Danny DE SILVA, 23.Michael THWAITE, 24.Matthew DAVIES, 25.Riley WOODCOCK, 36.William GALLAS, 39.Luke RADONICH (GK)
** Two to be omitted **
Ins: 36.William GALLAS (returns from injury), Daniel De Silva (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Travis DODD (knee – indefinite), Jack DUNCAN (International Duty), Ryan EDWARDS (International Duty), Scott JAMIESON (achilles – indefinite), Jamie MACLAREN (International Duty)
Brisbane Roar squad: 1.Michael THEO, 2.Matthew SMITH (c), 3.Shane STEFANUTTO, 7.Besart BERISHA, 10.HENRIQUE, 11.Liam MILLER, 13.Jade NORTH, 17.Matt McKAY, 18.Luke BRATTAN, 19.Jack HINGERT, 20.Matthew ACTON (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 34.Patrick THEODORE, 35.Jai INGHAM
In: 35.Jai INGHAM (promoted)
Out: 14.Diogo FERREIRA (suspended – one week)
Unavailable: 5.Ivan FRANJIC (stomach injury – one week), 15.James DONACHIE (groin – one week), 25.George LAMBADARDIS (knee – season), 26.Corey BROWN (International Duty – Young Socceroos)
GLORY REVIEW – ROUND 14
Perth Glory 3-0 Melbourne Heart (11. Adrian ZAHRA 64-, 9. Shane SMELTZ 85-, 89-)
Nib Stadium
Friday 10th January
Attendance: 9045
Referee: Peter Green
Perth Glory: 1.Daniel VUKOVIC (GK), 2.Jack CLISBY, 7. Jacob BURNS, 11. Adrian ZAHRA, 14.Steven McGARRY, 15. Isaka CERNAK (9. Shane SMELTZ 74-), 16.Sidnei SCIOLA MORAES, 17. Chris HAROLD (6.Cameron EDWARDS 84-), 23.Michael THWAITE, 24.Matthew DAVIES, 25. Riley WOODCOCK,
Subs not used: 39. Luke RADONICH (GK), 3.Brandon O-NEILL, 19. Josh RISDON
Bookings: 15. Isaka CERNAK (30-),
Melbourne Heart FC: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3.Robbie WIELAERT, 6.Patrick GERHARDT, 7.Iain RAMSAY, 8.Massimo MURDOCCA,10.Harry KEWELL (C) (9.Dylan MACALLISTER 70-), 11.Michael MIFSUD (15.David WILLIAMS 55-), 16.Aziz BEHICH, 17.Jason HOFFMAN, 22.Nick KALMAR, 23.Mate DUGANDZIC,
Subs not used: 20.Tando VELAPHI (GK), 24.Patrick KISNORBO, 25.Andrea MIGLIORINI
Bookings: 10.Harry KEWELL (C) (43-), 9.Dylan MACALLISTER (75-, 81-), 7.Iain RAMSAY (90-), 6.Patrick GERHARDT (90-)
Sending-offs: Dylan MACALLISTER (81-)
