Perth Glory will be looking to repeat its performance against Armadale earlier this year, when they clash this weekend in Round 13 of the PS4 National Premier League WA at Inglewood Stadium.
A Joe Knowles hat-trick in that game saw the Glory run out 4-1 winners and on that day Tom King made his debut for the club.
King joined the club from Melbourne City in the summer, after a stint in the UK with the Liverpool Academy, but has struggled with injury.
But he is now ready to get some much needed game time under his belt.
“The injuries are improving, and I feel I’ve had a bad run in the past couple of seasons, but I’ve worked hard and I feel I’m past that now,” he said.
“I’m at the stage where I need to condition myself so I’m able to play 90 minutes, week in and week out.”
King played for an hour last week against Floreat Athena, and is ready for the Armadale game. He he said it would be nice for a repeat of the last games score line.
“We got off to a great start winning on the road, so hopefully we’ll show enough quality to do it again,” King said.
“Every game we go in with the mentality we want to take three points from it, and Saturday will be no different.”
The 20-year-old said he learnt a great deal in the UK, and hopes to use that to push on and play at the next level.
“It was an incredible experience playing in the UK, especially at such a prestigious club, and I felt I grew as a person, just as much as I did as a player, it’s a fantastic learning environment,” he said.
“Every player in the youth team has the goal of stepping up into the first team and that’s no different for me. I’m focused on getting as fit and as sharp as possible, so when there is an opportunity, I’m ready to take it.”
Glory Coach John Gibson said while the team’s performances have improved this season, they haven’t translated into victories.
“Like most NPL sides we’ve been hit be injuries, but we can’t use that as an excuse, and we don’t – it’s given opportunities to players which has been refreshing,” he explained.
“We have three squads of talented players here, and they are all improving. The under 18’s and under 20’s both sit on top of their respective tables, which bodes well for the future of this program.
“But we do need to start to turn our good performances into points, because the boys thoroughly deserve it. Our goal at the start of the season was to be seriously competitive – and we are overachieving in that category – but the group has set high standards and expectations”
The Glory youngsters conceded four last week against Floreat Athena, and Gibson said the group was disappointed to concede three from set pieces.
“We opened really brightly and hit the woodwork, and then we were undone from a corner, and then conceded two more from set-pieces. Every session the group is challenging itself to be better and they boys have been working hard to fix minor details but we are seeking improvement daily”.
The match against Armadale kicks-off at 3pm at Inglewood Stadium.
The U-18s and U-20s will play at 11am and 1pm respectively.
Admission for Perth Glory members is free.
