New recruits Eliza Campbell and Jacynta Galabadaarachchi are in line to make their Glory debuts on Saturday when Bobby Despotovski’s side take on the Goldfields WA Women at Cannington’s Coker Park (kick off 5pm).
Matildas’ goalkeeper Campbell has been training with the squad for several weeks, while attacking midfielder Galabadaarachchi only arrived in Perth earlier this week but appears to be tracking well in terms of her match fitness.
The traditional curtain-raiser against the State Team has been a keenly-contested fixture in recent years and Despotovski is expecting that trend to continue this weekend.
“We’ll be fielding a youngish squad with a couple of older heads in there to guide them,” he said, “and they’ll be up against a solid State Team, so it will be a very interesting game.
“It’s an opportunity for our players to show us what they can do and also, a chance for the State Team players to impress as well.
“I’m looking for a good hit-out and the players getting a solid 90 minutes under their belts ahead of the new season which is now just around the corner.”
Despotovski went to on to confirm that pre-season has gone well thus far, before revealing that his side are likely to show some tactical versatility once W-League hostilities commence.
“I’m very pleased with the way the group has been training,” he said.
“Everyone is giving 100% to get to the fitness levels that we want them to reach ahead of our Round One game in Brisbane and, touch wood, so far we haven’t had any major injuries. Everyone is currently on track to be fully fit for that first game.
“We are going to try and play two systems this year, either 4-3-3 or 4-diamond-2, depending on which players we have available.
“And in this game on Saturday, we will employ a system that enables our young players to show us what they can do.”
Admission to the game is FREE, so do get along and lend the women your support if you can.
And don’t forget to grab your bargain W-League membership HERE.
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