Perth goalkeeper Danny Vukovic says the massive travel load Wellington have faced for Saturday’s Hyundai A-League minor semi-final will give the Glory a major advantage.
Perth goalkeeper Danny Vukovic says the massive travel load Wellington have faced for Saturday’s Hyundai A-League minor semi-final will give the Glory a major advantage.
Vukovic, who also declared he is “very confident” of winning the club its first title this season, is no stranger to the long journey, having previously played with the Phoenix and also travelled to New Zealand twice this season with.
He said the impact of the 5270km journey couldn’t be underestimated and gave him an extra reason to be optimistic ahead of the match at nib Stadium.
Vukovic said he expected Wellington to be well below their best and was confident Perth could benefit advance to the preliminary final.
“You tire a lot easier after such a long flight. Being in the air for so long it has a real effect on your body and it’s hard to recover from,” he said.
“They’re not going to be 100 per cent, that’s for sure. It’s a massive trip and it really takes it out of you. We have to take full advantage of that.”
Despite the difficulties with the long journey, Vukovic said the Glory still had to be especially cautious with Phoenix playmaker Paul Ifill.
The former Milwall attacker has scored eight goals from 18 games this season and played a vital role in the Phoenix’s elimination final win against Sydney.
“He’s in some of the best form he’s shown in the A-League so he’s definitely one to watch … you do need to pay a little bit of extra attention to someone like that when he receives the ball,” Vukovic said.
“If we can stop balls getting to him we can limit his influence on the game and the more we do that, the better our chances of winning.”
Vukovic said everyone at the club was buzzing for Saturday’s game, which came after their 3-0 win against Melbourne Heart last Sunday, but he said he had his own personal motivation beyond team success.
The 27-year-old played in losing Grand Finals in 2006 and 2008 with Central Coast, with his slap of referee Mark Shield in the second one earning him a nine month ban which ruled him out of the Beijing Olympics.
“To make it to two finals and come away with nothing was very tough to take. Being so close and not getting there is really fuelling the fire to try to be successful,” he said.
“I’m still fairly young for a goalkeeper so I’d like to think I’ll have a few more chances before the end of my career but it doesn’t come around all that often.”
“That’s why I’m really excited with this team because I can really sense that we’ve got a team that can go on and win the league.”
