Perth Glory defender Michael Thwaite is confident the side can bounce back against ladder-leaders Brisbane Roar despite the loss of William Gallas and Scott Jamieson through injury.
Perth Glory defender Michael Thwaite is confident the side can bounce back against ladder-leaders Brisbane Roar despite the loss of William Gallas and Scott Jamieson through injury.
Gallas was forced from the field in the 32nd minute of Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Central Coast Mariners, while Jamieson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the second half.
“He just signed a new contract and the last thing he said to me before surgery is that hopefully we get to play against together because we’ve got a great combination on the left side, and in my opinion he’s definitely the best left back we’ve got in Australia,” Thwaite said of Jamieson.
“He never puts a foot wrong every week and as you saw on Saturday night he was definitely our man of the match until the 70th minute and once again, I feel really sorry for him.”
The Glory led the Mariners 1-0 early after Jamie Maclaren’s 24th-minute goal but Michael McGlinchey hit back in the 34th before Mitchell Duke stole the win with the last kick of the game.
Thwaite was philosophical about the loss and urged his team-mates to continue their attacking approach against Brisbane.
“(Defence) has probably been our strength to date and I’m pretty sure if Jamo was on for the whole 90 we probably would’ve either drawn or won the game, but with 10 men we even still pressed forward but these things happen,” he said.
“We were definitely going for the win, we were at home and we definitely created a lot of chances.
“We had a great win there last time 1-0 (against the Roar). We were basically defending the whole time but we’re going to take a real pro-active approach.
“Last Saturday night you could even see that and how we were playing and the chances that we were creating but weren’t just finishing them off, and realistically one goal should be enough to win a game.
“So you have to remain compact in defence and the guys that come in have got to fill in for the likes of Will (Gallas) and Scott Jamieson, so hopefully we’ll go there with a proactive and confident approach.”
