Glory Head Coach Alex Epakis is backing the club’s Members and fans to help his side avenge Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Adelaide United when they lock horns with the Reds once again at Dorrien Gardens on Thursday (kick-off at 5.05pm, tickets HERE).
Emily Condon’s controversial penalty proved the difference between the teams during a hard-fought season-opener at the Marden Sports Complex, with Glory extremely unfortunate not to emerge with at least a share of the spoils.
And Epakis feels that the Dorrien Gardens faithful have a key role to play in driving the women in purple to their first points of the campaign.
“The opposition fans at the weekend acted as an extra player for them,” he said, “and I know that our Members and fans can 100% do the same for us.
“We would really appreciate that support.
“It will really help the players find an extra gear and I hope we can do enough to draw them there and that they get right behind us.”
Facing the South Australians for the second time in the space of five days may be an unusual occurrence, but Epakis is certainly not fazed by it.
“It’s definitely not a common experience,” he said, “and if it’s happened before in the W-League, I can’t recall it.
“But nonetheless, from a preparation point of view, you still go through the same processes in terms of recovery, training and loading etc and if anything, the idea of your mistakes and the positives from the game before being so fresh in your mind acts as a really good opportunity to execute things better.
“So it’s not a challenge, it’s just a new experience.”
The former Sydney University Head Coach saw enough in Saturday’s game to convince him that his side have what it takes to reverse the result and the players’ decision to forego a proposed day off earlier in the week has left him hugely impressed, yet again, by their level of dedication.
“I think the players know within themselves that we were good at times [on Saturday], but we weren’t good enough for long enough to win it,” he said.
“We know we’re capable of doing better and a lot of the focus is on us doing that to give us more of an opportunity to win the game and I’m confident that we can.
“I haven’t come across a group that has committed to any cause as much as this group.
“The players are very much wanting to be part of the club and make this season as big as they can make it.
“It [deciding to train on their day off] was an opportunity for them to showcase how much they want to do their best and how much they’re buying into the program, so to speak.
“Every single player put their hand up and they made that decision.
“It says so much about the character of the group.”
In terms of early squad news, Sarah Carroll is likely to be available once again after missing the Adelaide trip due to illness and Patricia Charalambous could also return to the selection mix.
The visitors, meanwhile, will be without forward Chelsie Dawber who has succumbed to a quad injury.
Please note, while tickets can be purchased in advance, there will also be admission at the gate.
Glory Westfield W-League Members who have not yet received their memberships can provide their details to gate staff in order to gain admission.
Match Details
Thursday, 14 January 2021
Perth Glory v Adelaide United
Dorrien Gardens, Perth
Kick-Off: 5:05pm (Local)(8:05pm (AEDT))
Referee: Georgia Ghirardello
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Shane Skinner
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvADL
To purchase tickets, click HERE
Perth Glory squad: 1.Lily ALFELD (GK), 2.Sarah CARROLL, 3.Gemma CRAINE, 4.Natasha RIGBY (C), 5.Deborah-Anne DE LA HARPE, 6.Tijan MCKENNA, 7.Elizabeth ANTON, 8.Hana LOWRY, 9.Malia STEINMETZ, 11.Patricia CHARALAMBOUS, 12.Sarah MORGAN, 14.Caitlin DOEGLAS, 15.Abbey GREEN, 17.Marianna TABAIN, 20.Rebecca BENNETT (GK), 23.Katarina JUKIC
Ins: 2.Sarah CARROLL (returns from illness), 11.Patricia CHARALAMBOUS (promoted)
Outs: 13.Jamie-Lee GALE (omitted), 16.Isabella WALLHEAD (omitted)
Unavailable: Nil
Adelaide United squad: 1.Sian FRYER-MCLAREN (gk), 2.Emily HODGSON, 3.Matilda McNAMARA, 4.Mallory WEBER, 5.Charlotte GRANT, 6.Georgia CAMPAGNALE, 7.MarÃa José ROJAS, 8.Emily CONDON, 12.Isabel HODGSON, 13.Ella TONKIN, 14.Abbey BURNS, 15.Meleri MULLAN, 16.Dylan HOLMES (c), 18.Annalee GROVE (gk), 19.Maruschka WALDUS, 21.Lara KIRKBY, 23.Fiona WORTS
**1 to be omitted**
Ins: 14.Abbey BURNS (promoted)
Outs: 10.Chelsie DAWBER (quad)
Unavailable: 11.Laura JOHNS (quad)
#OneGlory
