Glory dare to dream of cup
Perth Glory are eyeing the prospect of lifting the inaugural FFA Cup after being drawn to meet Melbourne Victory at home in the quarterfinals.
Glory advanced from the round of 16 with a comfortable 4-1 win away to Victorian minnows St Albans on Tuesday night, with Serbian attacker Nebojsa Marinkovic netting a brace.
Irish recruit Andy Keogh and young gun Jamie Maclaren also found the net.
FFA is set to confirm quarter-final details this week, with last-eight matches due to kick off on October 14.
Glory are likely to host Victory at their regular home venue, nib Stadium.
It will be Victory's second trip to Perth in the FFA Cup following their 2-0 win over NPL WA champions Bayswater City in the round of 32.
Glory assistant coach Andrew Ord welcomed the prospect of a home fixture after trips to Newcastle and Melbourne in their first two cup ties.
Glory already face a tough travel schedule, with trips to Wellington, Adelaide and Gosford in the opening month of the A-League season, which begins on October 10.
"At least we're at home and we don't have to travel again," Ord said. "There's no reason we can't fancy ourselves."
Glory made a raft of squad changes in the off-season, recruiting seven new players who are expected to challenge for first-team spots.
Keogh now has three goals in two competitive outings for Glory, after several strikes in pre-season friendly contests.
Marinkovic scored just once in 12 A-League appearances after joining Glory halfway through last season, but has found his feet and will be pleased to have found the net early this term.
Midfield duo Rostyn Griffiths and Ruben Zadkovich returned from knee injuries against St Albans, while Richard Garcia, Youssouf Hersi and Mitch Nichols all got valuable time on the park with their new club.
"I think it was always going to take time and real (competitive) games and key players coming back from injury," Ord said.
"(Tuesday) was probably the first big step in the right direction with quite a lot of the new signings all playing together."
Glory play a friendly match at Melbourne City tomorrow.
QUARTERFINAL DRAW - *Bentleigh Greens v Adelaide City; Palm Beach Sharks v Central Coast Mariners; Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory; Sydney FC vs Adelaide United.
"(Tuesday) was probably the first big step in the right direction …""Glory assistant coach *Andrew Ord *
