Above: Grace Johnston speaks to the media. Image: Perth Glory.
By Ella McShane (19/2/26)
Perth Glory’s Stephen Peters and young gun Grace Johnston spoke to the media ahead of their match up with Newcastle United for round 18 of the Ninja A-League. Three points separate the respective sides, therefore the common theme of a tight contest is likely to continue in the Hunter Valley with finals football to play for.
Following a victory and clean sheet against Canberra United at home on Saturday, spirits remain high amongst the squad.
“We just have to take that into next week against Newcastle,” said Johnston. “Finals is the end goal, but the only way to get there, is to take 3 points from every game.”
Heading into the weekend, Peters and Johnston highlighted the importance of harnessing the positive morale from last weeks three points, but also remain cautious of overconfidence.
“It’s all mentality, trying not to get too overconfident. I’ve been confident in our abilities and our ability to win, but we have to work on that in training each week and know [Newcastle United’s] strengths as well.”
“They’re a very strong team, very physical team. So we have to incorporate that into our game,” said Johnston.
“Morale wise we are feeling very good. But we are not getting ahead of ourselves, one win keeps us in the pack,” said Peters.
Looking to the tactics board, a more courageous style of attack has been a clear focus for the Glory in recent weeks. And it paid off on Saturdays clash with Canberra. We asked how Glory are plan on maintaining the more bold approach moving forward.
“It’s giving the 3 girls that start the confidence that they can shoot and that’s gonna yield an outcome for them. There was a little bit of that in training again today,” said Peters.
“But it’s also building the combinations. We want to try and settle on some combinations that are working.”
Being in contention for finals football is a welcome challenge for the girls in purple, however it has been a number of years and a complete squad turnover since this was the case. Reflecting on the pressure, Johnston explained that the team’s internationally experienced players have provided valuable guidance in these final weeks.
“That experience can be taken into the games,” said Johnston. “We have to treat every game like the final, those players can help us through and guide the younger players like myself through.”
Megan Wynne has returned to full training following a ruptured ACL and defender Naomi Chinnama is working on rebuilding strength and stamina after an ankle injury.
Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory will be played on Saturday the 21st of February at No.2 Sportsground at 2pm AWST. Streamed free on 10Play and for paying subscribers of Paramount+
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