Perth coach Dave Mitchell says he’s wary of a wounded Newcastle side as the Glory and Jets prepare to square off on Friday night at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
Newcastle may have been victorious in just one of its past five games, having lost the last two to Brisbane and Sydney respectively, but Mitchell won’t be taking the Jets lightly as the Glory look to build on last week’s away win over the Roar.
The 4-2 result over Brisbane snapped a six-match losing streak on the road, taking the Glory to fourth on the Hyundai A-League table and within reach of moving into equal top position ahead of the weekend’s other games, a position virtually unheard of since the Western Australians’ NSL days.
But Mitchell knows just how hard away wins are to come by for his charges, having seen them claim full points in just two of the last 15 road trips, particularly against a Jets outfit that would have earned a draw with Sydney last weekend if it could only find a clinical finish.
“I have no doubt they’ll be hungry to get the three points at home and the match definitely looms as a danger game for us,” Mitchell said
“The Jets will be stinging after being in the game against Sydney last week and then not getting the result they were after.”
“(But) we’ll take confidence into the match and are looking forward to having another opportunity to get a positive result away from home.”
“Our boys have a taste for winning on the road and they all want to taste it again.”
With only a five-day gap between playing Brisbane last Sunday and meeting the Jets, Mitchell has opted to keep his squad on the east coast this week, although his plans were disrupted on Wednesday when the Glory’s flight to Newcastle was cancelled due to the dust storm.
More seriously, the team’s lost Jamie Harnwell to an eight-week knee injury, in a massive blow, as the veteran utility had a hand in both the Glory’s first two goals against the Roar last weekend.
But Mitchell believes the club now has the depth to overcome its injury concerns, while saying that the week away following the big win at Suncorp Stadium will only help build morale further.
“We’re backing up after just five days but the boys have been in good spirits and we’re fortunate to have most of the squad fit and available to play,” Mitchell said.
“We threw things around a bit last week with Jamie Harnwell starting up front, but we have Mile (Sterjovski) that can go back into that role with Victor (Sikora) able to be placed out wide,” he added referring to a system that worked effectively when Perth beat Newcastle 2-0 at ME Bank Stadium in Round 3.
“We have played some good football this season but not been able to take the points.”
“(But) we will be looking to bring everything together when we play against the Jets and I’m confident we can do that,” he said.
Goalkeeper Tando Velaphi has been included in the Glory squad having missed one match after being concussed in a heavy collision with Gold Coast United’s Shane Smeltz in Round 6.
Aleks Vrteski was impressive deputising for Velaphi, the club’s regular stopper, last weekend. But it seems likely Velaphi will immediately return to his position between the sticks.
