Perth Glory FC’s NPL side will face Inglewood United for the second time this week when they meet at the Inglewood Stadium on Saturday.
Glory striker Stefan Valentini is in a rich vein of goal scoring at the moment, including two in Tuesday’s first team pre-season game against Saturday’s opponents Inglewood.
The 19-year-old has develeoped a potent partnership with Nikola Talimdzioski in recent weeks, but Valentini says his goals are more indicative of the teams success.
“Nikola and I have been playing together over the last month, and we’ve starting to complement each other’s styles,” he said.
“But we couldn’t score the goals if we weren’t getting the right service from the other players. The whole side is working together and looking to improve our game, and we hope we can continue on with it on Saturday against Inglewood.”
The striker has missed a large chunk of the season with injury, but has returned in red hot form scoring five goals in 11 NPL appearances.
“I was out injured for six weeks, and it was a frustrating watching the lads play, so I’m getting back in the swing of things,” he said.
“But to score two on Tuesday against Inglewood was a great boost of confidence for me, especially as we play them on Saturday in the league, and it was good to see the team play so well.”
“They (Inglewood) have lost the last four league games in a row (5 including the friendly) and I don’t think they will be taking this game lightly at all, We are confident with the way we have been playing and we will be looking for the three points.”
The Glory youngsters let a two goal lead slip in the final 10 minutes last week against ECU Joondalup, and Coach John Gibson said they will learn from it.
“We’ve been in a winning position a few times this season, we have to show a bit more maturity and understand the state of the game, it’s something the group have to overcome, but it’s a harsh learning curve for them,” he said.
“This is a tough league, and all sides have individuals, who have played at a good standard, but this season we have been very competitive in every game this season.”
Gibson said although the result was disappointing, the player’s commitment and attitude was first class.
“We say each week – the players have been magnificent this season, and they have been committed to becoming better, and are playing some great football,” he said.
“But we have shown all season we can match it with anyone, and the group is progressing and evolving nicely”.
“Despite letting in two goals last week, it made it a couple of games without defeat, and we hope to build on that on Saturday against Inglewood.”
Gibson comes up against good friend and fellow Glory development Coach Michael Garcia on Saturday. Inglewood won the first game earlier in the season 2-1 in a close game, and Gibson believes it will be another tight encounter.
“Saturday is another challenge for us, but one we’re looking forward to,” he said.
“They (Inglewood) are well coached and have strong line-up with some quality individuals – as per normal we stay focused on our game, and go out there and perform to our best.”
“They beat us in the first game between us in round six, but we feel we have improved as a team and will be looking forward to a strong performance on Saturday.”
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