Lowe’s glass still half full
Perth Glory coach Kenny Lowe says morale remains high despite their nine-match winless streak and the team is still on track for a successful season.
Glory are desperate to get a victory after falling to fourth place having been seven points clear on top in January.
They were on track to beat eighth-placed Central Coast last Sunday before conceding a 92nd- minute equaliser.
A win would have lifted them to second, and Lowe said Glory had been their own worst enemies by repeatedly making mistakes which allowed opponents to score.
But Lowe also said while many people focused on the lack of recent wins, he viewed the results differently.
“I think we’ve lost two in 10 so we’re there or thereabouts in every single game,” Lowe said.
“We just need to convert a lot of the draws we’ve had into wins and we’d be home and hosed by now.
“That hasn’t been the case but there’s still a lot of optimism in our group, so I’m sure we’ll ride the season out really well and have a super year like we have been having.
“We’ve lost to three teams in the A-League. That’s all. We’ve lost once away from home.
“So it depends what your mindset is. Our mindset is a positive mindset in that we don’t get beaten often.”
Tonight’s match against Western Sydney is captain Scott Jamieson’s 150th A-League appearance.
It provides another opportunity to reverse the team’s fortunes.
The Wanderers are enduring a season of arduous travel with their Asian Champions League campaign. They also played in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
Glory will be boosted by the return of goalkeeper Danny Vukovic but will be without Danny De Silva and Jamie Maclaren because of Olyroos duties. In positive news, winger Youssouf Hersi is closing to a return from hamstring surgery which the club thought would end his season. Hersi hasn’t played since December but Lowe said he was progressing well.
“He’s clambering. He’s in my ear every single day,” Lowe said.
“He’s very close and we’ll see how that one goes in the next week or so. It’d be great to have him back.
“He’s joining in with the squad so if he can get through the next few little gates and tests that the medical team have then he’s a real chance to get a few games in before the end of the season.”
Two sweet strikes from Brazilian midfielder Gui Finkler gave Melbourne Victory a 2-1 home win over Central Coast last night to keep them second in the table.
