Perth Glory Youth is on the road this weekend, travelling to Victoria to do battle with Melbourne City in a top of the table clash on Sunday morning.
John Gibson’s team sit five points clear of City as it heads East looking to keep them at bay.
Glory goalkeeper Jordan Thurtell believes the season is going to plan.
“The team has started great this year and we’re playing with confidence at the moment,” the Young Socceroos keeper said.
“We came into the season with the goal of keeping ourselves in the top half of the table, but I believe we’ve now changed that goal and we can push for the title.”
Thurtell, who has been in outstanding form, knows the clash with City will be a tough one, but he believes Glory is playing with confidence.
“They (Melbourne City) have some very high quality players so it’ll be a very difficult test for us,” he said.
“Any away game is never easy, because of the long travel, but as a team we know if we can go there and get a result it puts us eight points clear of them and in a strong position for the tail end of the season.”
The 19-year-old Glory custodian was part of the Young Socceroos in the recent AFC under 19’s Championships in Myanmar, along with Riley Woodcock and Danny De Silva, as well as a number of Melbourne City players.
“City had three players in the squad for the tournament, which shows the talent they have,” Thurtell said.
“Unfortunately Ben Garuccio missed the trip due to injury, and Marc Marino missed out on being in the final squad, but Stefan Mauk was a part of it. He’s a very good attacking midfielder, who can also score, and he will be one of the players we will have to shut down this weekend.”
Gibson said he was pleased with the first half of the season but knows there is room for improvement.
“As it currently stands at the halfway mark of the FNYL competition – we are relatively happy, but as I’ve said previously we’ve got a lot of improvement to come from this group,” he said.
“Moving into the second half of the season, we decide and we have a choice on how to accept the challenges moving forward. For us, we have high standards and the group demands these standards are met. The key message for us is ‘consistency’ particularly hard work and attitude” he said added.
“This week is a great challenge for us, and one we are looking forward too. We always respect the game and respect our opposition, and will always be positive. Ultimately it’s about us and how we execute our processes,”
Melbourne City Youth striker Wade Dekker and Captain Philip Petreski both head into the clash with Glory in red hot form.
City Coach, Joe Palatsides, will be hoping that they can lead his side to their first victory since November
Glory is coming off a 5-3 win against Central Coast Mariners, with Joe Knowles and Chris Harold bagging doubles. City conceded two late goals against Sydney FC last weekend in a game which ended in a 3-3 draw.
The Glory young guns will be aiming to extend their seven game unbeaten run and extend their lead at the top of the Foxtel National Youth League table
Be sure to follow @PerthGloryYouth on Twitter for updates throughout the match!
Foxtel National Youth League – Week 10
Melbourne City v Perth Glory
Sunday 21st December 2014
La Trobe University, Melbourne
Kick off 8am (WST)
