There is no respite for the Perth Glory Youth side. Two weeks after ending their Foxtel National Youth League season with a 3-1 win against Melbourne City, the Glory youngsters will take part in the QBE NPLWA Night Series, starting on Sunday evening. First up they take on PS4 National Premier League WA Champions Bayswater City at Dalmatinac Park, Spearwood at 5pm.
Glory Coach John Gibson said he is looking for the side to take their good form from the win against Melbourne into the first Night Series game.
“The group is really looking forward to playing Bayswater, it’s a good challenge first up,” he said.
“We will have a mixture of players for this tournament and it’s another opportunity to get game time. We had some good performances during the NYL, and the group has and maintains high standards.”
With the new format of the NYL it’s the first time the Glory Youth side have taken part in the pre-season tournament, and Gibson said it will help them for the league campaign starting in April. “We had a positive outcome against Melbourne and we’ll be looking for them to maintain another strong performance on Sunday,” he explained.
”It’s fantastic that we can take part in this pre-season cup for the first time and it may also give us a guide to the upcoming NPL season.”
Glory striker Nikola Talimdzioski will start his second season in the NPLWA, and he said his first season in the NYL has helped him greatly, and the win against Melbourne has given the players a huge lift.
“It was a well-deserved win for us, especially after all the hard work we put in throughout the season,” he said.
“We knew that they hadn’t won away during the season, and we were determined to win our first home game, and we put in a great performance to take the points.
“The boys are definitely excited and looking forward to the challenge that lays ahead, particularly with the teams that are in our group.
“They have only been in pre-season for a month, while we’ve been training for longer, so we’ll be looking to take advantage of our fitness and look to put in some strong performances.”
A huge first up game against last season’s League Champions, but Talimdzioski said the players are relishing the challenge, and also coming up against former team mates Bor Bor Sam and Nathan Costello. “It’s a massive game first up for us, but it’s the best way to test how far we’ve come,” he explained.
“It’s always good to come across former team mates, but we put that friendship aside for the game and focus on what’s needed to be done to start the competition with a good performance.”
The game kicks off at 5pm on Sunday, at Dalmatinac Park, Spearwood
