Perth Glory will be aiming to end their Foxtel Y-League on a high when they travel to the Epping Stadium on Sunday to take on Melbourne Victory (kick off at 6.30am WA Time).
The youngsters are on a good run of form having picked up seven points from their last three games which included an impressive victory over Conference winners Melbourne City in Round Eight.
And midfielder Jack Leech confirmed that the youngsters are buzzing heading into the Victory game after another win at Brisbane Roar last week.
“It was an amazing win for us and I thought we fully deserved it,” he said.
“We were dominant for the whole 90 minutes, created plenty of opportunities and limited them to very little, so it continues our late-season form.”
Leech went on to confirm that he and his teammates are determined to scale those heights once again on Sunday.
“We are all super-excited for the final game against Victory,” he said.
“We’ve done all the preparation and hard work and are feeling very confident that we can produce a positive performance that will earn us the three points.
“It was our goal to end the season well and come home strong and we are all determined to achieve that again this week.
“Overall the season has been very positive for us. In all the seven games we have played, we have been seriously competitive and dominated for the majority of them.
“It was disappointing to not turn our good performance into results in the early part of the season, but towards the end and especially in the last few games, we have shown everyone how good we can be and that we can get points on the board quite easily.
“As a team we have grown, bonded and learned from our mistakes collectively and individually and we’ll be looking to continuously improve and progress in the NPL season when that starts.”
Glory Head Coach John Gibson echoed the midfielder’s sentiments both in terms of the Victory game and the campaign overall.
“The group have been super all season,” he said, “and for the majority of them, it’s their first playing in the Foxtel Y-League Competition, experiencing the travelling and the short format of games.
“Certainly we are disappointed in our ladder position, but there have been plenty of positives to take out of the season. We are determined to have another strong consistent, mature away performance this weekend.
“In the second half of the season, the group have displayed even more positivity, resilience and self-belief and have justifiably been rewarded for their efforts.
“It will be extremely hot on Sunday, but we love the heat and look forward to another challenge!”
Victory are coached by inaugural Glory Captain Gareth Naven and the last time the two sides met, the navy-and-whites went home with the points after a 3-2 win at Dorrien Gardens.
Glory are unbeaten since that game, however and Gibson is hoping to avenge the defeat on Sunday.
“The home game against the Victory was a key moment for the group,’ he revealed. “As a collective we adjusted our goals and were determined to finish off the back half of the season undefeated.
“This group is incredibly tight-knit and that defeat hurt us. Now we are focused on ending the season with a strong performance. It will be tough and challenging, but this group loves that stuff and we will be prepared, organised and ready for it.”
[Please note that the kick off time has been brought forward to 9.30am local time, 6.30am WST, due to expected hot weather in Victoria over the weekend.]
Match Details
Foxtel Y-League Conference A
Round 10
Sunday 28 January 2018
Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory
Epping Stadium
Kick-off – 6.30am (WA Time)
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