There’s good news for Glory fans, with head coach Kenny Lowe revealing reigning Johnny Warren medallist Diego Castro is a strong chance to feature in tomorrow night’s crucial match against league leaders Sydney FC.
After sustaining a hamstring injury three weeks ago against Central Coast the potential return of Castro could be the tonic the team needs.
“I think he might be on the bench” Lowe said.
“I think it’s a boost for everyone if Cass (Castro) is there, It’s a boost for Castro because he enjoys the game, he loves the game”
“If Cass is right then he’ll play or be involved, if he’s not he won’t, but he’s trained all week so he’s close.”
Glory will be looking to bounce back from a shock defeat to the Newcastle last weekend which was its first defeat at the hands of the Jets to Newcastle in 11 years.
It was a performance Lowe described as unacceptable.
“I’m expecting a reaction from the players, the players are expecting a reaction from themselves, a positive reaction so hopefully we see that,”
“The big thing is whichever eleven goes out there, they’ve got to grasp the opportunity, and there’s got to be a reaction and a positive reaction.”
This positive reaction could come from a change of personnel with Lowe not shying away from the likelihood of some changes to the team this weekend.Â
“I would expect something would happen, we’ve got a few people that are coming back to fitness and sneaking back into the squad, Granty (Alex Grant) and Castro are somewhere near, so there are those possibilities and then there are people on the outside who are thinking I deserve a chance now because people haven’t taken theirs”.
“We’ve got a fantastic opportunity this week, because it doesn’t come any bigger than Sydney,”
“They’re the form team at the present second and you can take some heart if you can turn the form team.”
Glory will have to be at its best to take anything from an unbeaten Sydney FC who travel to Perth having dropped just six points all season.
Kick-off is at 7pm and tickets can be purchased HERE
Glory Facts and Stats
- Perth Glory is the quickest team out of the blocks this season; its four goals in the opening 15 minutes of games this campaign is more than any other team
- Perth Glory has scored a league high 7 goals from set pieces this season, second is Adelaide United with 5
- Perth Glory remain as the most accurate in terms of cross completion at 30.9%, Sydney FC are fourth with 26.1%
- Perth Glory (17) and Sydney FC (21) sit third and first in terms of goals scored so far this term
- Nebojsa Marinkovic has found the back of the net from outside the 18-yard box twice this campaign, the equal most of any player alongside the Reds’ Henrique
- Andy Keogh sits equal second on the Hyundai A-league goal scoring charts with 7 goals, just 1 behind Melbourne Victory’s Besart Berisha
- Shane Lowry still hold a perfect 100% tackle success from his five appearences this season
- Perth Glory has scored a league high 4 headed goals so far this season, whilst Sydney FC are yet to score with the head
- Nebojsa Marinkovic has created an impressive 26 chances this season, the most of any player alongside Western Syndey’s Mitch NichollsÂ
- Chris Harold has been fouled 31 times so far this term, the most by any Glory player
- Alex Grant leads the Glory in terms of blocks (10) and interceptions (34) this season and holds the highest succesful duel percentage aswell at 70.7%
Match Details
Saturday, 17 December 2016
Perth Glory v Sydney FC
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off:Â 7:00PM (Local) (10:00PM (AEDT))
Referee:Â Alan Milliner
Assistant Referee 1:Â Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2:Â Matthew Southern
Fourth Official:Â Adam Fielding
TV Broadcast:Â Live coverage on Fox Sports 505 from 9.30pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 4 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast:Â ABC Grandstand, EON Sports Radio (eonsportsradio.com)
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvSYD
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au
Perth Glory squad:Â 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Rhys WILLIAMS, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS (c), 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 13.Nicholas FEELY (gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 16.Joe MILLS, 19.Josh RISDON, 22.Adam TAGGART, 21.Jamal REINERS, 23.Kosta PETRATOS, 24.Milan SMILJANIC, 33.Liam REDDY (gk)
**two to be omitted**
Ins:Â 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN (promoted)
Outs:Â Nil
Unavailable: 7.Joel CHIANESE (groin – 1 week) 17.Diego CASTRO (hamstring – 3 weeks) *Could feature in the match*
Sydney FC squad: 3.Riley WOODCOCK, 4.Alex WILKINSON, 5.Matt JURMAN, 7.Michael ZULLO, 8.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 9.BOBÔ, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Bernie IBINI, 13.Brandon O’NEILL, 14.Alex BROSQUE (c), 17.David CARNEY, 19.George BLACKWOOD, 20.Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 21.Filip HOLOSKO, 22.Sebastian RYALL, 23.Rhyan GRANT, 24.Charles LOKOLINGOY, 40.Chris OLDFIELD (gk).
**two to be omitted**
Ins:Â 3.Riley WOODCOCK (promoted), 17.David CARNEY (promoted), 19.George BLACKWOOD (promoted), 24.Charles LOKOLINGOY (promoted)
Outs: 6.Josh BRILLANTE (suspended – 1 week), 18.Matt SIMON (suspended – 1 week)
Unavailable: 1.Vedran JANJETOVIC (gk) (personal leave – indefinite)
