Perth Glory has been boosted by the return of star players Shane Smeltz and Andrezinho for Sunday’s clash against the Phoenix
Perth Glory has been boosted by the return of star players Shane Smeltz and Andrezinho for Sunday-s clash against the Phoenix.
The attacking pair have recovered from injury and were part of a 16 man squad that headed for Wellington via Sydney this morning.
Smeltz returns after missing 2 games with a groin injury while Andrezinho has not played since tearing his hamstring on the eve of the Melbourne Heart game in December.
“We-ve got a good squad and we-ve got to build on these last two results,” Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson said at the airport before departure.
We-re unbeaten in two so we have to make sure we put a positive spin on that.
“Little Risdon has come in and done great, so has Pantelidis and McGarry and Sterjovski have been outstanding.”
Bas van den Brink unfortunately has not recovered from hamstring soreness while Billy Mehmet has also been ruled out for two weeks with a small tear to his calf.
In a horror schedule, it-s the second time in four weeks Perth have made the long trek to New Zealand but Ferguson is positive Glory can return with three points.
“They’re a fantastic team at home, we’ve got to go there with the attitude we showed last time.
“I’m sure we can get something, the football we’ve shown in the last two games has been really good, but – and I keep saying it – it’s the silly mistakes, we’ve got to cut out the silly mistakes.
“If we can cut them out, we would have got a really fantastic result the other night (against Brisbane) and the boys know that.
“We’ve got to keep going, we’ve got to believe in ourselves.”
Wellington Phoenix v PERTH GLORY
Sunday, January 8 2012
Kick-off: 11am
