Richard Garcia is adamant that his side will go all guns blazing into Saturday’s final game of the season against Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium (kick-off at 5.10pm WST).
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Glory’s late charge for the Finals came up just short in midweek with a narrow defeat at the hands of Brisbane Roar, while the Jets currently prop up the ladder having accrued just 17 points this term.
But Garcia is confident that his charges will not leave any stone unturned in their bid to round off one of the most challenging campaigns in the club’s history with a win which would see them finish just one point short of last year’s end-of-season total.
“The boys were very disappointed the other night after feeling that we’d had the better part of the game and probably should have capitalised on it,” he said.
“You could tell they were hurting and as much as it’s disappointing, it’s good to see a dressing room full of guys that felt that disappointment and were hurt to their core.
“That means that they care about the club and the team which is fantastic.
“That’s what we want to grow and build and we’re looking to bounce back this week and end on a high.
“They’ll [Newcastle] be on a high after winning [v Central Coast] and everyone wants to go out on a high.
“That’s something we’ve spoken about.”
In terms of the way he will approach the game tactically, meanwhile, Garcia insisted that it will be business as usual.
“I think I always let them [the players] off the leash!” he said.
“That’s something that I’m a keen believer in.
“You need to be disciplined in what we do, but we want the players to play with freedom and express themselves.
“That’s something we’ve tried to give to the boys and let them grow with that and it’ll be no different tomorrow night.
“We want to win the game, that’s first and foremost and if we allow them to express themselves, we’ll have the best possible chance to do that.”
And while acknowledging his disappointment at the fact that Glory’s A-League season will not extent beyond the weekend, the Head Coach feels that the club is well placed to move forward.
“I’m very pleased that we’re now heading in the direction that we want to head,” he said.
“The squad have bought in and their mentality has changed and you can see that in the results.
“Unfortunately we didn’t capitalise on that the other night [v Brisbane Roar], but that’s what happens if you don’t take your chances in football.
“I feel like the group is in a good place and it’s a good starting spot to rebuild again and continue that rebuilding into next season.”
On the squad news front, Garcia reported no fresh injury concerns arising from the Brisbane game, although respective Socceroos and Olyroos commitments will again rule out both Chris Ikonomidis and Nick D’Agostino.
The Jets, meanwhile, also have several players away on international duty and have lost the services of key defender Jonny Koutroumbis (ankle).
Craig Deans will take charge of the team for the final time having announced his intention to stand down as Head Coach and he’ll be out to improve the Jets’ miserable home record against Glory which has seen them win just six of the 23 A-League meetings between the two clubs.
Match Details
Saturday, 5 June 2021
Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory
McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-Off: 5:10pm (WST)(7:10pm (Local))
Referee: Adam Fielding
Assistant Referee 1: Ryan Gallagher
Assistant Referee 2: Brad Wright
Fourth Official: Ben Abraham
VAR: Craig Zetter
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 5:05pm (WST), Sky Sport 7 (New Zealand) , Kayo Sports (www.kayosports.com.au) and MyFootball Live App, Live Fast and Data Free for Telstra mobile customers
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #NEWvPER
To purchase tickets visit www.a-league.com.au/tickets
Newcastle Jets squad: 1.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (c), 7.Jordan O’DOHERTY, 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 14.Ali ABBAS, 16.Matt MILLAR, 17.Valentino YUEL, 19.Kosta PETRATOS, 23.Jack DUNCAN (gk), 27.Lucas MAURAGIS, 32.Angus THURGATE, 44.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 28.Blake ARCHBOLD, 26.Archie GOODWIN, 25.Jack SIMMONS, 18.Jack ARMSON, 51.Jordan LENNON (promoted)
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 19.Kosta PETRATOS (promoted), 25.Jack SIMMONS (promoted), 18.Jack ARMSON (promoted), Jordan LENNON (promoted)
Outs: 22.Lachlan JACKSON (released), 2.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS (ankle – 1 week)
Unavailable: 5.Ben KANTAROVKSI (calf – season), 15.Tete YENGI (Foot – 1-2 weeks), 20.Syahrian ABIMANYU (National duty), 8.Liridon Krasniqi (National duty), 21.Luka PRŠO (National duty), 24.Connor O’TOOLE (National duty), 11.Ramy NAJJARINE (National duty), 33.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS (calf – 1 week)
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 5.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 6.Osama MALIK, 8.Kosuke OTA, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 10.Andy KEOGH, 11.Joel CHIANESE, 13.Luke BODNAR, 15.Brandon WILSON, 17.Diego CASTRO, 19.Callum TIMMINS, 20.Carlo ARMIENTO, 22.Josh RAWLINS, 23.Dane INGHAM, 24.Daniel STYNES, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 33.Liam REDDY (gk)
**0-2 to be omitted**
Ins: Nil
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 4.Sebastian LANGKAMP (groin – 1-2 weeks), 7.Chris IKONOMIDIS (international duty), 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO (international duty)
#OneGlory
