Perth Glory coach Kenny Lowe has praised his side’s commitment after watching them notch an eighth victory in nine Hyundai A-League games to further consolidate themselves in the playoff spots.
Goals either side of half-time from Andy Keogh and Diego Castro were enough for Glory to claim a second consecutive win in Wellington and take possession of the inaugural Distance Derby trophy.
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“I just think we’ve got a real work ethic amongst the team,” said Lowe afterwards.
“(Andy) Keogh works just as hard as our defenders. (Diego) Castro is probably the best player in the league but if you look at his GPS numbers he’s one of the hardest working players at our club. We’ve got really good guys with a genuine work ethic.”
“There’s a real desire and everybody wants to help everybody else. When you’ve got a real urge to help your mates out, you’ve got half a chance.”
“(We’ve) just got good characters. We’ve got some good players. I think we’ve scored the most goals since the turn of the year. They can all play, but they’re good people. They care and they’re in it for each other which is superb.”
“We’re not the flashiest team in the league by a long way but we are a very well organised side who have a wonderful work ethic,” he said.
Lowe also pointed to the stats when summarising his team’s victory.
“I think we had 25 shots and Wellington had four, one on target. They dominated the ball but we created the better opportunities,” he said.
“You’re never content. We were disappointed to concede but I thought we were really, really professional.”
“It’s a difficult place to come but we’ve controlled the game. I think we deserved it,” said Lowe.
And despite now being six points clear of seventh-placed Sydney FC with just three regular season games to play, the Perth mentor insisted the A-League finals are not in his mind.
“No, we’ve got Newcastle (next). That’s the focus for us. We’ve said it all along – the next goal for us is the next game. The target is to get something out of that and keep rolling on,” he said.
