A-League Men: Perth Glory midfielder Nicholas Pennington says his side are not intimated by Melbourne Victory

Nicholas Pennington has already found a home in Perth, and the Glory midfield — but while he might need to stay at home a bit more against Melbourne Victory, he says his side are not intimidated by the challenge. Perth head to AAMI Park on Sunday as rank outsiders against second-placed Victory, with the Glory still seeking their first A-League Men’s win under David Zdrilic. And their leaky defence will be tested against a Melbourne side blessed with firepower in the final third, with Daniel Arzani starting the season in excellent form while ex-Perth forward Bruno Fornaroli looms as an option either to start or off the bench. Amid Perth’s poor start to the season, Pennington has been a shining light and his ability to get forward from midfield led to both of Perth’s goals in their 2-2 draw against Adelaide. While Pennington’s box-to-box tendencies have helped Perth in attack, against a Melbourne side brimming with confidence in attack, Pennington was mindful of the need for balance. “It’s not intimidating; they have good players, they’ve shown they can create good chances and they’re very good one-on-one players,” he said. “But then at the same time, we’ve got the players to to counter them, and we can definitely have a good game against them. “There has to be a balance. We’re trying to defend better, because everyone has seen, the first couple of games, we conceded a lot of goals. “For me, I try to go when I can and it’s more the experience I’ve had playing, I try to help the attack as much as possible, and at the same time, try and defend as much as possible — it just means a lot of running sometimes.” Pennington had a connection to WA even before signing with the Glory, stemming from his father being born in Perth and growing up in the Darling Ranges. “He always talked to me about it, he loved it here, actually and said when he was a kid and growing up, he loved it here,” he said. “It was quite sad when he had to move away; it does feel a bit like home, I really love the city.” Pennington has had one of the most unique paths to the A-League; despite his Australian heritage, he was born in Rome and grew up in Sardinia. He came through the youth system at current Serie A side Cagliari, before going on to make more than 100 appearances for Italian side Olbia prior to three years with Wellington Phoenix. “In Italy, there’s a lot of emphasis on the tactical side of football; here, there is the tactical side, but it’s also a lot more physical and there’s a lot of physical work,” Pennington said. “It’s a much faster style of football, I actually enjoy it more than the Italian style, which is a lot of the time, very tactical, two oppositions going at each other in a very tactical way. “Here, the football can be very box to box and I think it’s more entertaining for the fans as well.” The Glory have confirmed the capture of former defender Tomi Mrcela, who returns to the club after two seasons with them from 2018-2020.