Perth midfielder Adriano Pellegrino says he and his Glory team-mates were thrilled to be involved in Sunday’s physical and competitive 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
Despite both sides being reduced to 10 men after Glory skipper Jamie Coyne was sent for an early shower – only to be followed soon after by Newcastle’s Daniel Piorkowski – Pellegrino said this was the type of passion one could expect from two sides desperate to climb up the Hyundai A-League standings.
“That’s what you can put it down to I guess,” said Pellegrino when asked whether the desperation shown by both sides lifted the encounter into the top bracket of matches this season.
“We’re on equal points and both pushing to try and push our way up the ladder, so it was a physical encounter.”
“(But) it’s always a tough game against Newcastle, we’ve had a (3-3) draw against them last time they played out here (in Round 2).”
“I don’t think they were going over the top (either), it’s a physical game and it was just one of those games that was probably entertaining to watch, a lot of tackles and end-to-end (play).”
The Glory may be sitting last on the Hyundai A-League table but the tightness of the overall competition means the club is just four points adrift of the Queensland Roar in fourth position.
And with a game against Queensland coming up following next weekend’s FIFA break, Pellegrino is aware the Glory need to show more of the passion they demonstrated against Newcastle to come away with an invaluable three points from Suncorp Stadium.
“At the end of the day a few results haven’t gone our way, especially away from home, we haven’t traveled so well the first half of the season,” Pellegrino admitted.
“They don’t have the best home record, but you never know on the day and you’ve got to look at every side as a tough game.”
“They’re a great side and we’ve got to go there looking to win and at the same time, we need to play some good soccer.”
“It’s no panic stations at the moment, you pick up another win or another couple of wins in a row and you’re back right up there.”
“So everyone’s got a good attitude around the club at the moment and I think everyone’s positive we can push for a top-four berth.”
