Perth captain Jacob Burns has denied Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg’s suggestion a lack of fitness is behind the Glory conceding late goals in three matches so far this season.
Currently sitting in seventh on the Hyundai A-League table, the Glory have conceded late winners to Wellington and Central Coast when they looked worthy of a draw, while a 90th-minute equaliser by Gold Coast’s Shane Smeltz on the weekend was a heartbreaker.
The Glory looked like hanging on for a 2-1 win which would have seen them climb to fourth, but instead were forced to settle for the draw, leading Bleiberg to say Perth wasn’t as fit as his United side, possibly as a result of eight players from the 14-man squad being over 30.
But Burns has denied this, saying the team just needs to be more switched on mentally towards the end of a match, particularly if defending against set pieces.
“I totally dismiss that it’s got to do with our fitness,” Burns said.
“(But) maybe, it is a mental toughness thing towards the end there.”
“In this modern game, set pieces or when the balls stopped in play, they’re the important things and that’s what’s caught us on a number of occasions, so we’ll be really focussing on that.”
“It’s unfortunate that a goal’s come in from a free kick or from a corner,” he added referring to Bas van den Brink’s 52nd-minute header that pulled a goal back after the Glory had gone 2-0 up in the first half.
“So we’ve got to look at where the goals come from (and those are) the areas that we’ve got to focus on – where we’ve got to be (to defend them better).”
The Glory will be closely monitoring the fitness of No.1 goalkeeper Tando Velaphi throughout the week ahead of the club’s trip to Queensland to take on bogey side Brisbane.
Velaphi was concussed when accidentally caught in the temple by Smeltz’s leg as the striker scored his late equaliser, forcing the stopper from the field and leading to Glory veteran Jamie Harnwell pulling on the gloves for the last three minutes.
Despite being kept in hospital overnight for observation, Velaphi was cleared of any serious concussion, although he’ll be forced to visit the doctor every day this week before being selected for Sunday’s clash.
If not fit, former Glory goalkeeper Aleks Vrteski will line up between the posts for Perth against a Brisbane side that’s not lost to the Glory since the opening Hyundai A-League season.
