Perth Glory Coach Dave Mitchell will play his cards close to his chest when it comes to team selection this week naming an extended 20 man squad, including the injection of six new players, to tackle Wellington at home on Sunday.
Perth Glory Coach Dave Mitchell will play his cards close to his chest when it comes to team selection this week naming an extended 20 man squad, including the injection of six new players, to tackle Wellington at home on Sunday.
Mitchell will make the final decision on his 15 man squad following a closed training session on Saturday but is confident those that make the cut can get the job done in a crucial match against the Phoenix.
Following a disappointing effort last weekend Mitchell conducted a thorough assessment of his side and has been delighted with the response from the players.
“Everyone has taken it upon themselves to take responsibility for how they perform and for their direct opponent and things stem from there,” Mitchell said.
Three points on Sunday will move Perth above their New Zealand rivals and kick-start a stalled 2008/09 campaign.
“It-s a situation where it is a big game for us and we-ve got to go in there with the right attitude so that we get the three points,” said Mitchell.
“It was a really bad day at the office last week but we can rectify that this week and build from there.”
New recruit Wayne Srhoj is one of the players vying to break into the Glory side and is seen as the likely replacement for injured playmaker Amaral. Srhoj returned to Australia following a number of seasons playing in Romania and signed with the Glory early this month.
“Wayne is very good player and has been working hard to increase his fitness and is in with a big shout of being part of the squad this weekend,” Mitchell said.
“He is eager to join in and to have him as an option to come into the side is a bonus for us.”
Other players to be added include the hard working Jamie Harnwell, who could play a role at either end of the ground for Perth, along with Nick Rizzo, Hayden Doyle, Mark Lee and Naum Sekulovski.
Glory has been hampered by an unfortunate run of injuries throughout the start of the season however they are getting bodies back on the park and in a position to push for selection.
“We have a squad building up again but not everyone could probably play 90 minutes so you have to look at the balance and where people can be effective for you,” Mitchell said.
“When you look at all the squads across the league they-ve all improved and Wellington are no different. It is going to be a difficult game but at home I feel we can create some openings and score some goals to get the points.”
Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix
Sunday 21 September 2008 at Members Equity Stadium
Kick off 3.00pm AWST
Referee. Strebre Delovski
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Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 2 and Sky Sports 1.
Peth Glory Squad. 1.Jason PETKOVIC (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 3.David TARKA, 4.Jamie COYNE (c), 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 7.Nick RIZZO, 8.James ROBINSON, 9.Adrian TRINIDAD, 11.Scott BULLOCH, 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 14.Eugene DADI, 15.Hayden DOYLE, 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 21.Mark LEE, 22.Wayne SRHOJ, 24.Anthony SKORICH, 26.Jeff BRIGHT, 27.Stuart McLAREN, 30.Tando VELAPHI (gk)
* five to be omitted.
In. 5.Jamie HARNWELL (return from injury), 7.Nick RIZZO (promoted), 15.Hayden DOYLE (promoted), 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI (return from injury), 21.Mark LEE (promoted), 22.Wayne SRHOJ (promoted).
Out. 10.AMARAL (hamstring – 3 weeks).
Unavailable. Josip MAGDIC (ankle – 6 weeks), Hayden FOXE (foot – 3 weeks), James DOWNEY (calf – 1 week), Dino DJULBIC (suspended – 4 weeks).
Wellington Phoenix Squad. 1. Mark PASTON (gk), 3. Tony LOCHHEAD, 4. Jon McKAIN, 5. Karl DODD, 6. Tim BROWN, 9. Shane SMELTZ, 10. Michael FERRANTE, 11. DANIEL, 12. Richard JOHNSON, 13. Troy HEARFIELD, 15. Adam KWASNIK, 16. David MULLIGAN, 18. Ben SIGMUND, 20. Glen MOSS (gk), 21. Leilei GAO, 22. Andrew DURANTE (captain).
* one to be omitted.
In. 10. Michael FERRANTE (promoted), 15. Adam KWASNIK (return from injury).
Out. 8. Vaughan COVENY (omitted).
Unavailable. 7. Leo BERTOS (groin – 1 week), 17. Vince LIA (knee – season).
