Hodgson the star as Glory win Gold Fields Challenge Cup game
Danny Hodgson was the star of the show at the 2022 Gold Fields Challenge Cup game between the Gold Fields WA Men’s State Team and Perth Glory yesterday.
Glory, who are less than two weeks away from the start of their A-League campaign, ran out comfortable 6-0 winners at Kingsway Reserve thanks to goals from Ben Azubel (2), Adam Zimarino (2), Keegan Jelacic and Gio Colli.
But it was Hodgson who brought the biggest cheer from the large crowd, who had paid a gold coin donation to assist the former Olympic Kingsway striker in his recovery from the life-threatening injuries he sustained in an unprovoked attack in Perth CBD 12 months ago.
Hodgson, accompanied by partner Jessica Pollock, walked to the middle to perform the coin toss, then after the match presented the Challenge Cup trophy to Glory captain Mark Beevers and head coach Ruben Zadkovich.
“To see Danny [Hodgson] back up on his feet and talking and communicating the way he is, it’s fantastic,” Zadkovich told perthglory.com.au.
“He’s been through one hell of a tough time and it’s nice to see that the Perth and WA community have really got behind him.
“For him to be out here on his feet presenting that trophy shows how strong he really is and it was a special touch."
On his side's preparation for the new season, Zadkovich added: “I was pretty happy, especially with the first half.
“More than anything, we looked fit, we looked powerful and we looked sharp.
“We were on the front foot and there were a lot of positives.
“There are still a few things there that I saw which we need to work on, but it was another positive step in the right direction and it was nice to be back in front of our home fans.
“It’s tricky to gauge where we’re at as we’ve only had one A-League opponent in pre-season ... but one thing I can tell you is that the players, the staff and everyone at the club is working really hard.
“We’re going in the right direction, but there’s a long way to go.
“We have some challenges ahead, but they’re challenges that myself and my staff and my players will meet head-on.”
Match Details
Gold Fields WA State Team 0
Perth Glory 6 (Azubel (pen) 15′ 30′, Zimarino 41′ 53′, Jelacic 75′, Colli 82′)
Half-time: 0-3
Referee: Shane Skinner
Kingsway Reserve
WA State Team: 1.Jason SALDARIS (GK) (C), 2.Ryan FINNIE, 3.Ollie ANNIS, 4.Hristijan JANKALOVSKI, 10.Nick AMBROGIO, 11.Bailey BROWN-MONTGOMERY, 14.Rob PETKOV, 16.Kosta SPARTA, 17.Decaln HUGHES, 19.Blair GOVAN, 27.Ndumba MAKECHE
Substitutes: 5.Federico ACHILLI, 6.Jesse FULLER, 7.Jack LEECH, 12.Stephen HESKETH, 20.Hasani SINCLAIR, 21.Jonothan CORNESS, 26.Abdul OSMAN, 30.Luke RADONICH (GK)
Perth Glory: 13.Pierce CLARK (trialist) GK, 2.John KOUTROUMBIS, 5.Mark BEEVERS (C), 7.Ryan WILLIAMS, 11.Ben AZUBEL, 14.Jack CLISBY, 16.Keegan JELACIC, 19.Zach DUNCAN, 20.Giordano COLLI, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 43.Adam ZIMARINO,
Substitutes: 39.Adrian SINAGRA (GK), 3.Jacob DOWSE, 4.Luke BODNAR, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 12.Luke IVANOVIC, 18.David WILLIAMS, 25.Matt HATCH, 37.Jacob MUIR, 55.Dakota ASKEW (trialist) 77.Stefan COLAKOVSKI
