Richard Garcia believes that the next two games, starting with Wednesday’s home fixture against Adelaide United, (kick-off at 7.20pm WST, tickets HERE) will prove pivotal in determining whether Glory’s late charge for a Finals berth is ultimately successful.
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After hosting the Reds and then Macarthur FC on Sunday, the men in purple will round off the regular A-League season with consecutive away trips to Wellington, Brisbane and Newcastle.
And Garcia feels that maximising home advantage ahead of that trio of games on the road is vital.
“These next two games are crucial for us,” he said, “and it’s about the guys putting in the same level of belief and focus that they have in the last three games.
“I’m always optimistic, but it’s the group that dictates where we go.
“Their mentality in the past few weeks has been fantastic and they’ve just got to continue that, especially at home.”
Glory will head into the Reds clash seeking a fourth successive victory and it is the players’ attitude that has particularly pleased Garcia during the successful run.
“It’s good to see things going well,” he said.
“It’s testament to the group that they’ve been mentally strong enough to get through the challenges of the year and now it’s about the focus on the last few games.
“I feel that they’re getting more comfortable with what we’re trying to do and their belief in each other is growing.
“It’s about making sure that the beliefs and what we’re trying to achieve is followed not only this season, but next season and it’s been evident over the last few week that that is starting to come to light.
“So if that continues, the performances and results will continue.”
Confidence is naturally high in the camp off the back of Sunday’s thumping 5-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers, but there is no danger of Garcia getting carried away.
“It’s definitely one game at a time,” he said.
“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves; we want to make sure that we focus upon tomorrow night and repeat the performance.
“They [Adelaide] are in good form and have some good players, but our focus is firmly on what we do.”
Glory’s Head Coach went on to acknowledge the contribution made by the club’s medical staff in helping the squad to cope with the physical demands of what continues to be a gruelling campaign.
“I think everyone’s sort of ok,” he said.
“It’s about managing the squad and making sure that we recover from last week.
“That’s been a difficult balancing act for us all year, trying to rotate to keep people as fresh as possible.
“We believe in everybody in our squad.
“We have to rely on everyone in the squad to bring the goods when it’s their turn to perform.
“Jason Weber and Greg Mullings and their team have done fantastically to keep the boys on track and give us the information to be able to make those decisions [about players’ freshness].
“It really helps when you have a very highly-skilled group behind you that can actually help you manage the group in such a congested schedule.”
Glory will be up against an Adelaide side which has been in indifferent from recently, winning two, losing two and drawing four of their last eight games and the Reds will head across the border without leading scorer Tomi Juric who has been ruled out by a calf injury.
For the home side, there are no fresh fitness concerns and Sebastian Langkamp (groin) remains the only confirmed injury absentee.
Match Details
Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Perth Glory v Adelaide United
HBF Park, Perth
Kick-Off: 7:20pm (Local)(9:20pm (AEST))
Referee: Shaun Evans
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Arvin Shanmuganathan
Fourth Official: Shane Skinner
VAR: Kurt Ams
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag # PERvADL
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 5.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 6.Osama MALIK, 7.Chris IKONOMIDIS, 8.Kosuke OTA, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 10.Andy KEOGH, 11.Joel CHIANESE, 13.Luke BODNAR, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 19.Callum TIMMINS, 20.Carlo ARMIENTO, 22.Josh RAWLINS, 23.Dane INGHAM, 24.Daniel STYNES, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 37.Riley WARLAND
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 22.Josh RAWLINS (promoted), 24.Daniel STYNES (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 4.Sebastian LANGKAMP (groin 1-2 weeks)
Adelaide United squad: 1.James DELIANOV (gk), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.George TIMOTHEOU, 4.Ryan STRAIN, 6.Louis D’ARRIGO, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.Stefan MAUK (c), 11.Craig GOODWIN, 17.Mohamed TOURE, 18.Joe CALETTI, 21.Javi LÓPEZ, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 23.Jordan ELSEY, 24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE, 26.Ben HALLORAN, 27.Josh CAVALLO, 28.JUANDE, 29.Kusini YENGI, 33.Dakota OCHSENHAM (gk), 35.Al Hassan TOURE
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Michael MARRONE (promoted), 24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 9.Tomi JURIC (calf), 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS (knee), 46.Joe GAUCI (quadricep)
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