Perth Glory could find themselves knocked from the top of the Hyundai A-League unless they find a way to overcome their bogey team Adelaide United next Sunday, but coach Kenny Lowe doesn’t fear Josep Gombau’s team in the slightest.
Glory lost to Sydney FC 3-1 at nib Stadium on Saturday night after their two newest signings, Dragan Paljic and Denis Kramar conceded penalties before Kramar scored in the 73rd minute with Perth holding a one-man advantage over the Sky Blues.
However, rather than close that one-goal gap, Glory saw Sydney score a third thanks to Bernie Ibini and that now means they only hold a one-point lead on top of the A-League from Melbourne Victory, four points from Adelaide, five from Wellington Phoenix and eight from Sydney.
And it’s the Reds awaiting Perth next Sunday at Coopers Stadium with the Glory looking to get a measure of revenge on United for losing their first two meetings this season, along with the Westfield FFA Cup final.
Lowe sees no reason to suggest his team is suffering any sort of slump as their lead on top of the table shrinks and he’s looking forward to having defender Rostyn Griffiths and attacker Mitch Nichols back for the trip to Adelaide.
“We’ve done ever so well, we’re still up there and we’ll stay up there. We are doing OK,” Lowe said.
“We’ve got Griffo coming back next week, Mitch is back and we are adding quality back into the playing group. People are becoming available and there’s competition for places.
“In all our last few games we’ve not been outplayed, not been outthought and not been outshot, outscored or outpassed so we are in a good spot.”
While those on the outside might see Adelaide as Perth’s bogey team, that’s not at all how Lowe is looking at it and he doesn’t lose any sleep thinking about playing United just like Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat wouldn’t fret thinking about Glory despite not beating Glory yet this season.
“Muscy doesn’t keep awake at night thinking we’ve got the wood over him and I don’t do that with Josep’s team,” Lowe said.
“It’s just the nature of football and if you really look at stuff you could probably chuck up some excuses, and probably valid facts but it’s pointless doing that. We are looking forward to next week, it will be a great game.”
