Former Perth Glory teammates Chris Coyne and Steven McGarry have joined forces to tackle their old club in Wednesday’s Heritage Cup clash at Inglewood Stadium.
WA State coach Coyne, who is also in charge of PS4 NPLWA club Bayswater City, called on McGarry’s additional experience as they prepare for the match against Glory, which kicks off at 7pm.
“Stevie is as passionate as me,” Coyne said of the ECU Joondalup midfielder. “When we were at Glory, in training we’d always be kicking lumps out of each other.
“He’s got a great football brain and he’s someone I can learn from. I can bounce ideas off.”
Bayswater’s Stuart Moses and Alun Vernals are also assisting Coyne, who was in charge of WA in 2014 when they beat Glory 2-1.
Goals from Alec Solomons and Ludo Boi sealed a rare victory for WA that Coyne hopes will be repeated on Wednesday.
“We want players who were prepared to come in and try and win and enjoy the experience,” Coyne said.
“I was fortunate enough to play for the State team myself when I was younger and it’s a massive privilege to come in and coach them now. It’s fantastic to work with these players and to give them the opportunity to go and test themselves against the best in the state.”
McGarry, who scored for Glory in a 3-1 win over WA in 2013, expected a competitive encounter having experienced the cut-and-thrust of previous matches.
“When I was at Glory we had a couple of interesting games when it was really tight and they made it really difficult,” he said. “You know you’re up against it. And I think the State has got a lot of good players and exciting players and hopefully we can go and do a job.”
Football West recently announced its intention to create a second Hyundai A-League club for WA in the next three to five years.
The WA State team will provide a platform on which to build the new club, which will be guided by stakeholder input and market research.
What: Heritage Cup
Who: WA State team v Perth Glory
When: Wednesday, August 17
Where: Inglewood Stadium, Hamer Parade, Inglewood
Kick-off: 7pm
Gates open: 6pm