Glory fires up for first A-League season clash

A fired-up Perth Glory will head into Round 1 of the Hyundai A-League season this weekend, taking on Queensland Roar at Suncorp Stadium in Queensland on Saturday night.

Today, at Members Equity Stadium in Perth, Head Coach Ron Smith led his team’s final training session before flying out for the match. Smith was quietly confident of Glory’s hopes against the home side, despite yet another week of travel for the only recently finalised playing squad.

“Our first few games are going to be our toughest, because we are behind most of the other clubs in terms of our on-field preparation,” Smith acknowledged.

“In many ways, Perth Glory is starting again and I am still getting to know the players, as is Dave Mitchell. We are still working out the key areas of potential of the playing group, in particular, that of the younger players and those who are back from injury.

“The succession of so much travelling in the past few weeks, plus the illness and injuries we’ve had, have all made our preparations very challenging. I can say though, looking at the form that some of the lads have started to show this week, I’m confident we’ll be competitive on Saturday.

“We’re very pleased that Simon Colosimo is back to strength this week and will play. He’s mentally and physically ready to go.

“And we’re looking even stronger for our first home match next weekend, with Jason Petkovic making a solid recovery from his ankle injury and only a week away from being back. Jamie Coyne is at a similar stage and I expect him to play for Round Two also.”

Perth Glory Squad: 3. David Tarka, 4. Simon Colosimo, 5. Jamie Harnwell (captain), 6. Jeremy Christie, 7. Mislav Saric, 8. David MicEvski, 11. Stan Lazaridis, 12. Leo Bertos, 13. Ante Kovacevic, 16. Adrian Webster, 17. Stuart YouNg, 18. Josip Magdic, 19. Naum Sekulovski, 20. Aleks Vrteski (gk), 23. Tyler Simpson, 30. Andrew Crews (gk).

In: 4. Simon Colosimo (returning from knee injury), 8. David Micevski (returning from illness - flu), 16. Adrian Webster (returning from hamstring injury).

Out: 9. Luka Glavas (omitted), 15. Mark Robertson (groin - 1 week).

Unavailable: 1. Jason Petkovic (gk) (ankle - 1 week), 2. Ryan Townsend (back), 10. Bobby Despotovski (back - 3 weeks), 14. Jamie Coyne (abdominal - 1 week), 18. Josip Magdic (illness - flu).

A-League Round 1

Queensland Roar vs Perth Glory
Saturday Night, August 26
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-Off: 7:00pm (local/AEST), 5:00pm (WA)

Live Coverage on Fox Sport Two from 6:55pm (AEST).

Round 2 will see Perth Glory host Central Coast Mariners for the new-look club’s first home match of the season, at Members Equity Stadium on Sunday, September 3 (kick-off 3:00pm, gates open 1:30pm).

Fans can purchase tickets now from Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100) to avoid delays on match day and receive a $5 discount on the usual match-day ticket price.

Perth Glory season memberships are on sale now through the Glory Membership Hotline 1300 657 406 or online at the Perth Glory website.