Perth coach Kenny Lowe hopes the excitement following the Socceroos debut for defender Josh Risdon will help inspire his teammates to a win, when Glory hosts Sydney FC at nib Stadium on Saturday.
Bunbury born Risdon played 90 minutes against Bangladesh this week, and was pivotal in Australia’s 4-0 win.
“Rizzo will be back, he’ll be buzzing after his adventure. It’s fantastic for him and hopefully we can reap the benefits of that as well. He’s going to be really confident, you know, so it’s superb”, Lowe said.
“I think all the boys are really pleased for Rizzo it gives everyone a good feel factor and rightly so. He deserves everything he gets and hopefully he can transmit that vibrancy onto other people and we can go on and put on a good show.”
Lowe has coached Risdon for the past decade, from a junior in the NTC to now in the Hyundai A-League and is aware of his full potential.
“The biggest thing with Rizzo is he’s got to believe in himself. He’s got a few little things that he needs to do to make himself better, not so much in the football element but maybe off the pitch. But just being around some high professional people, but I’m sure that will rub off, it’s another level for him it’s another eye opener for him and he’ll only get better”, Lowe added.
While injuries have forced striker Guyon Fernandez, towering defender Dino Djulbic and midfield general Gyorgy Sandor out, Lowe re-iterated that it was a chance for other players to shine.
“It opens opportunities for other people and force themselves in the team…and stay in the team”.
The RD 7 clash against the Sky Blues is the first match at home in a month. Lowe said he looked forward to playing at home in front of local fans and supporters.
“It’s always good to play in front of your home fans and it’s always good to put on a performance to allow the fans to be happy and everyone gets a buzz off that.”
Saturday’s match has been dedicated to Perth Glory Women and will also serve as a fundraiser for the club’s partnership with Breast Cancer Care WA .
Lowe revealed his family had been touched by the disease and urged everyone to donate to the cause this weekend.
“My wife’s mum, twice (affected) and she’s still here at 72, drinking wine and dancing on the tables but it really brought it home to my wife and how it impacted on our family”.
The match kicks-off at 4.30pm. Tickets are available HERE
Match Details
Saturday, 21 November 2015
Perth Glory v Sydney FC
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 4:30 PM (Local) (7:30 PM (AEDT))
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referee 1: Ashley Beecham
Assistant Referee 2: Josh Mannella
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 7.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 2 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: 720 ABC Perth, 702 ABC Sydney, 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 #PERvSYD
Perth Glory squad: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 5.Antony GOLEC, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA (c), 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Hagi GLIGOR, 16.Sidnei SCIOLA, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 23.Michael THWAITE, 24.Jamal REINERS, 25.Jacob COLLARD, 29.Aryn WILLIAMS
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 14.Chris HAROLD (return from injury), 18.Mitch OXBORROW (return from injury), 19.Josh RISDON (return from international duty)
Outs: 20.Guyon FERNANDEZ (foot – 1 week)
Unavailable: 6.Dino DJULBIC (ankle – 6 weeks), 7.Gyorgy SANDOR (ankle – 1 week) 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH (knee – indefinite)
Sydney FC Squad: 1.Vedran JANJETOVIC, 2.Seb RYALL, 3.Alex GERSBACH, 4.Zac ANDERSON, 5.Matt JURMAN, 7.Andrew HOOLE, 8.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 9.Shane SMELTZ, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Christopher NAUMOFF, 13.Brandon O’NEILL, 14.Alex BROSQUE, 18.Matt SIMON, 20.Ivan NECEVSKI, 21.Filip HOLOSKO, 23.Rhyan GRANT, 24.George BLACKWOOD, 27.Mickael TAVARES.
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 4.Zac ANDERSON (promoted), 7.Andrew HOOLE (return from international duty), 11.Christopher NAUMOFF (return from international duty)
Outs: 19.Jacques FATY (personal reasons)
Unavailable: 22.Ali ABBAS (Knee – indefinite)
