Edwards still eyeing finals spot

Interim Perth Glory coach Alistair Edwards is still daring to dream of playing finals this season despite Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Western Sydney.

Interim Perth Glory coach Alistair Edwards is still daring to dream of playing finals this season despite Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Western Sydney.

The Glory, who shocked A-League leaders Central Coast Mariners in Edwards’ first game in charge, pushed the second-placed Wanderers in wet conditions at Parramatta Stadium.

But an Aaron Mooy strike that took a wicked deflection off Michael Thwaite was enough to give the hosts their seventh straight victory and deny the Glory a point after a hard-fought battle.

The loss leaves the Glory stranded in ninth spot on the ladder, five points behind the sixth-placed Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC (fifth) with five games to play.

“Most definitely,” Edwards said when asked if finishing inside the top six was still a realistic goal.

“We’re not going to give up until it’s mathematically impossible for us to get in there and I think we’ll get better as every single game goes, so I’m looking forward to that.

“We’ve got players like Josh Risdon who I thought was fantastic tonight – a young WA boy – coming into the squad and training with us and learning from the likes of Liam Miller and those types of top-class players.”

The Glory host Sydney FC next Saturday in a crucial clash and also play Newcastle, Wellington, Melbourne Victory and Adelaide in the run home.

Edwards praised his players’ efforts against the in-form Wanderers and believes they deserved at least a point for their efforts.

“I thought the game had a draw written all over it to be honest,” he said.

“They got a deflected goal which was probably against the run of play and I think apart from the first 25 minutes I thought that we did really well and there’s some good signs moving forward.

“I was really proud of the way they performed actually, it was one of those games where they’re obviously not happy to lose but I think this is part of a journey.

“We’ve had a really good game against Central Coast last week, they’re on top of the league and we had a really good game against Western Sydney so we’re looking forward to the next five games.

“One thing about this team, I think as we play game after game we’ll get better and better, a bit like Western Sydney have done this year.”