Perth Glory FC coach Kenny Lowe has rejected suggestions the team has shrugged “the monkey off its back” following the 2-1 win over Central Coast at the weekend.
Glory came from a goal down to secure three points against the Mariners on Saturday night and climb higher on the table.
Lowe dismissed suggestions by reporters on Tuesday that the team was under pressure.
“There’s no monkeys, 27 games, see the season out, see where we go, there’s no monkeys we just work hard, we do what we do, it doesn’t matter, there’s no pressure here”.
Glory host Melbourne Victory on Wednesday night at nib Stadium in the second of a three game week.
Last time both sides met was in the FFA Cup final at AAMI stadium in November. Melbourne emerged victorious on that day but Lowe said his side could steal the glory if it continued to work hard.
“It’s another tough game and something we’ll be up for, and work really hard and try to win” he said.
“If we can produce an FFA cup second-half performance for the full game then we’ll be in the mix to get something out of this one”.
Lowe said reliable right back, Josh Risdon could come back into the fold, providing he passed a fitness test on Tuesday night. The 23-year old Socceroo has missed the past three Hyundai A-League games due to a thigh strain.
“He’s trained we just want to see the reaction when he comes in for the session this afternoon, to see if he’s sore if there’s any reaction. But he’s trained and hopefully there’s no reaction which will allow us to be more comfortable in making a decision on him”.
Last season Victory was unable to beat Glory in all competitions.
Perth will be looking to repeat that run of luck as it aims to climb up the ladder with a win against the current league champions.
The match kicks-off at 6pm and tickets to teh match can be purchased HERE.
Ins and Outs
Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 6:00 PM (Local) (9:00 PM (AEDT))
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 8.30pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 4 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: 720 ABC Perth, 774 ABC Melbourne, ABC Local Radio WA, ABC Local Radio NSW, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvMVC
Perth Glory squad: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 5.Antony GOLEC, 7.Gyorgy SANDOR, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA (c), 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Hagi GLIGOR, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 23.Michael THWAITE, 24.Jamal REINERS, 28.Joe KNOWLES, 29 Aryn WILLIAMS
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 15.Hagi GLIGOR, 19.Josh RISDON
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 6.Dino DJULBIC (ankle – 6 weeks), 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH (knee – indefinite), 16.Sidnei SCIOLA (quad – 2 weeks), 20.Guyon FERNANDEZ (hamstring – 2 weeks)
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 5.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 6.Leigh BROXHAM (c), 7.Gui FINKLER, 8.Besart BERISHA, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 11.Connor PAIN, 13.Oliver BOZANIC, 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 15.Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 17.Matthieu DELPIERRE, 18.Dylan MURNANE, 19.George HOWARD, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 22.Jesse MAKAROUNAS
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Scott GALLOWAY (promoted), 22.Jesse MAKAROUNAS (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 4.Nick ANSELL (foot – 4 weeks), 10.Archie THOMPSON (knee – 1 week), 21.Carl VALERI (ill – indefinite)
