Above: Tijan McKenna speaks to the press. Image: Perth Glory.
By Ella McShane (22/1/26)
The girls in purple come into the weekend off the back of a shared point with last years league champions Central Coast Mariners, a welcome change from both last season and the early stages of the campaign. Head coach Stephen Peters and defender Tijan McKenna spoke to the media.
“There’s a good bit of confidence with the football and we’ve generated some good competency with our defence,” said Peters.
McKenna was named A-Leagues December player of the month, despite having filled in at centre back out of necessity over the past several weeks. McKenna described the accolade as a pleasant “shock”.
“It’s definitely helped me as a player, playing out of position, in multiple spots. Just developing me even more”
“I think she’s found a bit of a home [at centre back]..It’s really good, I am really proud of her.” Peters commended the young defender.
Looking to the opponent, the respective sides come into the weekend with a mere three weeks separating the last match up.
“It’s unique, for us we don’t want to go away from things that you did well, but you also want to make tactical adjustments,” stated Peters.
Reassessing City’s threat, Peters reaffirmed the ever-present attacking danger posed by Holly McNamara, while also emphasising the strength and depth of the squad as a whole.
“You’ve got to be on your guard. But Leah Davidson gave three assists in that particular game. Thats the quality that they possess, if it’s not Leah, it’s Laura Hughes, if it’s not Laura Hughes it’s Leticia McKenna. They’ve got a very good side.”
“They’re a very consistent side they’ve got similar actions from the first whistle to the last whistle.”
Peters reflected on the previous match-up, saying, “We made errors at crucial moments that hurt us, but our overall approach play was strong.”
Peters also pointed to a key positive, adding, “We’re the only team in the competition to have taken the possession statistics away from them, so we’ll take confidence from that.”
The A-league table grows tighter as the season progresses with a mere 4 points currently separating Glory from their league leading opponent.
“Every game is becoming a finals game because of how close the competition is becoming.”
Megan Wynne and Natalie Tathem are inching closer to a return to the pitch following ACL injuries, with Tathem in full training and Wynne following closely behind
Peters also revealed that caution will be exercised the following weeks to consider player loading.
“We’ve got to look at a bit of a load management situation with the two games so close together.”
“We will most likely delve into the squad for the next two games.”
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