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Perth Glory striker Shane Smeltz hopes to inflict more pain on Wellington Phoenix when his former club travels west for Sunday’s A-League clash at nib Stadium.
The Phoenix are unbeaten after two games but enter this week’s clash severely down on manpower, with Vince Lia, Lucas Pantelis and Paul Ifill nursing injuries and Tim Brown suspended after being shown red in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Newcastle.
But Wellington midfielder Nicky Ward on Monday was cleared to play against the Glory, despite being red-carded by referee Matt Gillett in the closing stages of the victory over the Jets.
The Phoenix appealed successfully to the match review panel, believing the referee was wrong in ruling Ward had fouled to prevent a clear scoring opportunity.
The red card was rescinded, leaving Ward free to play against Perth.
Smeltz, who scored a brace in the Glory’s 2-1 away win over Melbourne Heart on Sunday, said Wellington’s long road trip this week would further compound their player drain, giving Perth even more of an advantage.
“I know they don’t like the trip over here so we’ll try and cause a bit of damage,” said Smeltz, who spent two seasons at the Phoenix.
“It (the trek from NZ to Perth) is just something that takes it out of you.
“It’s a long way on the plane and I think they’ve got a few niggles as well … so there’s a few things weighing them down a little bit.
“But we can’t take them for granted. They’re a good team and, like any game in this league, they’re always going to be tough.”
The Glory sit atop of the ladder with Brisbane following their scintillating start to the season, in which they have posted wins over Adelaide and the Heart.
But Smeltz said it was far too early for the team to get carried away just yet.
“It’s two games in, there’s a long season to go and we know there’s some tough games ahead,” he said.
“But it’s a fantastic start from the team and it’s just a credit to what we’ve done in the off-season and the pre-season and, hopefully, things start to go in the right direction for us.”
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