A-League Women: Perth Glory coach Stephen Peters eyeing second spot more so than chance to end Sydney hoodoo

The last time Perth Glory beat Sydney FC at home in an A-League Women fixture, Sam Kerr scored a brace for the hosts against a Sky Blues outfit featuring Matildas greats Caitlin Foord, Alanna Kennedy and Lisa De Vanna. But just over seven years on from their last home victory against Sydney, Perth Glory coach Stephen Peters has encouraged his charges to defy fatigue with the dangling carrot of second spot on the ladder. Glory will head into the clash with the 10th-placed visitors off the back of just a four-day turnaround ahead of Wednesday night’s clash at Sam Kerr Football Centre. Despite Saturday’s 2-0 loss to top-of-the-table Melbourne City, Glory could jump into second with three points and while games in hand and goal difference mean they may not stay beyond this weekend, Peters said it was an opportunity they could not afford to let slip. “It’s very rare you get an opportunity to have two bites of the cherry going into second spot, which is what we’ve recently experienced,” he said. “It’s all about the opportunity for us now. We can’t think about the negatives or the pressure; we’ve got to think about the opportunity that’s presenting itself and there’s an opportunity to put ourselves second on the ladder, which is incredible.” Peters confirmed there would be “three or four changes” to the starting line-up, while young forward Tanika Lala is pressing for inclusion and experienced utility Nat Tathem is close to returning from a torn ACL suffered at the end of last season. While December 2018 was the last time Perth beat Sydney at home, they also have not claimed the chocolates against the league powerhouses since 2020 either, although Peters said the drought was not on his mind. “We had a similar situation last season when we played them here, where we were above them on the ladder and we got a draw against them in that particular game,” he said. “It’s important with the hoodoo not to really think about it, but then if you do break it, you obviously celebrate it.” While Perth will have the weekend off and a nice break before they head across the Tasman to face Wellington, Peters said the next month before the Asian Cup break was critical. “We would probably put Melbourne City and Sydney FC in its own little block, and then the Wellington, Canberra and Newcastle games in a different block before the Asian Cup break,” he said. “This is why I believe this game’s super important for us; we want to collect some points from this little spell that we’ve had. “We’ve played the champions (Central Coast) away, the premiers at home, and then Sydney FC, who have been a very successful team in the league straight after that. “The challenge has been fantastic for us, but the opportunity for us is huge. I hope that we can showcase the football that we’re capable of producing with the tough stuff we’ve been known for in recent times.”