Glory head coach Adam Griffiths has highlighted the importance of the Australian Cup to his wider plans for the coming season ahead of the Round of 16 away clash with the Queensland Lions (kick-off 5.30pm WST, watch LIVE and FREE on the Football Australia YouTube channel and 10.com.au).
The men in purple will travel to Spencer Park hoping to secure a place in the last 16 by repeating their hard-fought 2015 win over NPL side Queensland when Chris Harold scored the only goal of the game in extra time.
And Griffiths believes progress in the Cup could be key to helping his players hit the ground running when the new A-League campaign begins in mid-October.
“This is a competition we want to do well in,” he said.
“We’re going to go into every game this season with the mindset that we want to win.
“We want to have a good Cup because it builds a culture, a winning mentality.
“This is an important game for the club.”
The Glory team has been back training for the better part of a month and the head coach is pleased with what he has seen.
“Preparations are going well,” he said.
“We are back in full training and are starting to make progress in terms of our fitness.
“It’s nice to be back on the training ground and try to work out more of our playing pattern.
“When you make changes, it creates a different atmosphere, and those changes are always positive.
“This allows us to start creating more competition within the team, this competition is healthy and means everyone is playing their game.”
As for Tuesday’s hosts, they are currently locked in a tight title battle with Peninsula Power, who they currently trail by one point.
Defeat to the Gold Coast Knights in midweek dented their prospects of claiming their first Premier League spot since 2022, but the defending champions bounced back at the weekend to beat the Eastern Suburbs 1-0.
Alexander Fichtner has spearheaded the Lions’ attack this season, netting an astonishing 31 times to top the NPL QLD scoring charts by nine goals, while their squad also includes Zane North, son of former Glory defender Jade and Mitchell Hoare, brother of current Glory midfielder Henry.
And Griffiths is under no illusions about the challenge the fired-up home side will pose as they seek to secure the Cup.
“Lions are a very nice outfit,” he said.
“They are a quality team that has a lot of positives in some of the playing patterns, so it will be a unique game for us.
“This is our first game of the season and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
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