Taylor awaits rematch with ‘top-class’ Keogh
Steven Taylor is set for another tussle against Andy Keogh, 10 years on from an encounter for their respective under-21 national teams.
Earlier this week, the Wellington Phoenix defender spoke of playing against the Perth Glory striker during his time back in England, where Taylor played 13 seasons with Newcastle United in the English Premier League and Championship.
Keogh’s career in England was more transient than Taylor’s, taking in eight teams over 11 years through various transfers and loans.
That made trying to line up when they may have met in club colours difficult, but they did play against each other on February 5, 2008, at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton.
That day Taylor captained England’s under-21s to a 3-0 win over the Keogh and the Republic of Ireland under-21s. Current Liverpool midfielder James Milner scored two goals for England, while Everton’s Theo Walcott got the other in a side which also featured Joe Hart, Mark Noble, Aaron Lennon and Tom Huddlestone.
A decade on, Taylor said he remained fully aware of Keogh’s talents – the Irishman has scored 44 goals in 99 games for Perth, including four in five matches this season.
‘‘I’ve played against him in England. He’s a top-class player and has done so well out here. He showed week-in, week-out his class.
‘‘There’s not just him though, there are a bunch of players out there who can hurt you. We’ve just got to nullify them and concentrate on ourselves. The players that we’ve got, especially going forward, the pace and power we’ve got, I’m confident of going in there to win.’’
TAB:
Phoenix: Filip Kurto, Mandi, Ryan Lowry, Dylan Fox, Mitch Nichols, Nathan Burns, David Williams, Liberato Cacace, Alex Rufer, Michal Kopzcynski, Louis Fenton, Sarpreet Singh, Tom Doyle, Oliver Sail, Roy Krishna, Andrew Durante (c), Max Burgess, Steven Taylor
Glory: Tando Velaphi, Jason Davidson, Shane Lowry, Ivan Franjic, Dino Djulbic, Joel Chianese, Andy Keogh, Brendon Santalab, Matthew Spiranovic, Chris Harold, Brandon Wilson, Tomislav Mrcela, Diego Castro, Chris Ikonomidis, Jake Brimmer, Fabio Ferreira, Liam Reddy, Neil Kilkenny
Perth have surged to the top of the table through five rounds of this A-League season under new coach Tony Popovic. They made it four wins on the trot when grabbing a last-minute 3-2 victory over the Central Coast Mariners last weekend.
That match saw influential midfielder Diego Castro make his first appearance of the season off the bench after being plagued by a hamstring injury. He is in Perth’s squad again this weekend.
Perth have set up in a similar shape to the Phoenix, playing three or five at the back, but have been much more effective in the front third, scoring 11 goals to the Phoenix’s three – the top and bottom of the league.
‘‘They’re there [top of the table] for a reason,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘They do the basics right and have got quality players all round the park.
‘‘Their style of play is difficult for a lot of teams to cope with, especially with the quality they’ve got, but it’s a test. It’s part and parcel of being a footballer. You’ve got to step up to the challenge.’’
The Phoenix again named a fullstrength squad again, as they have for most of the season. Young defender Liberato Cacace may come back into the frame for selection after having an interrupted couple of weeks of training due to NCEA exams.