Glory Head Coach Adam Griffiths has stressed the importance of the Australia Cup to his wider plans for the upcoming season ahead of Tuesday\u2019s Round of 32 away tie with Queensland\u2019s Lions FC (kick-off at 5.30pm WST, TV details to be confirmed).<\/p>\n
The men in purple will head to Spencer Park looking to secure a place in the last 16 by repeating their hard-fought 2015 victory over the Queensland NPL side when Chris Harold bagged the only goal of the game in extra-time.<\/p>\n
And Griffiths feels that progress in the Cup could play a key role in helping his charges hit the ground running when the new A-League campaign gets underway in mid-October.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a competition we want to do well in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to go into every game this season with the mentality that we want to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to go on a good Cup run because it builds that culture, that mentality of winning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an important game for the club.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Glory squad have been back in training for the best part of a month and the Head Coach has been pleased with what he has seen so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreparations are going well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re back into full training and starting to progress in terms of our fitness levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to be back on the training ground and trying to work through a lot of our game model.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you make change, it creates a different atmosphere and that change is always positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows us to start creating more competition within the squad, that competition is healthy and it means everyone is on their game.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Tuesday\u2019s hosts, they are currently locked in a tight title battle with Peninsula Power whom they currently trail by a single point.<\/p>\n
A defeat to Gold Coast Knights last midweek dented their prospects of claiming a first Premiership since 2022, but the reigning Champions bounced back at the weekend by edging out Eastern Suburbs 1-0.<\/p>\n
Alexander Fiechtner has led the Lions\u2019 charge this season, finding the net a remarkable 31 times to lead the NPL QLD scoring charts by nine goals, while their squad also features Zane North, son of former Glory defender Jade and Mitchell Hore, brother of current Glory midfielder Henry.<\/p>\n
And Griffiths is under no illusions as to the challenge a fired-up home side will pose as they seek to cause a Cupset.<\/p>\n
\u201cLions are a very good outfit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a quality team that has a lot of positive attributes in some of their game model, so it\u2019s going to be a unique game for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our first game of the season and we\u2019re looking forward to the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
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