Few weekends of football hold the magnitude of importance this one does for the Perth sides in the A-Leagues and the Matildas on the national stage.
The Glory girls begin their final sprint to the finish tonight, looking to retain their spot in the top six and create a gap to the chasing pack by beating Adelaide on their home turf.
Consecutive draws on the road for the Glory boys has kept them barely within touching distance of a coveted finals berth. They need to get winning, starting with Wellington at the cake tin.
As for the Matildas, a below par performance against South Korea saw them finish second in Group A. It means they’re back in Perth for a quarter final against North Korea, in the opening knockout clash in the Women’s Asian Cup.
In the A-Leagues, it’s very close to do-or-die time. For Joe Montemurro, it is do-or-die time. The stakes are high; let’s see who comes out to play.
For the Glory boys…
Could Tevere be the difference maker?
The jump from the NPL to the A-League is a much bigger step than most recognise. A very small percentage have been able to transition with great effect at the professional level.
When Luca Tevere was signed by the Glory as the replacement for Rhys Bozinovski, his resume in the NPL and the Australian Championship was impressive.
Called into action from the jump, the 23-year-old didn’t look comfortable in his first couple of outings, going through an adjustment period to the added pace and physicality of the league.
Auckland away is one of the toughest games to do well in, so for the young midfielder to register two assists and showcase brilliant composure and execution in the pass for the second goal indicates he might have what it takes to be a part of that small percentage.
The immediate faith Adam Griffiths put in him paid off, but now the test is backing it up. It’s a decent amount of pressure to be a consistent goal contributor, but from those good momentslast week, Tevere has shown he can be the linkup player the Glory needs while Tom Lawrence is out.
For the Glory girls…
Does Wynne make her return?
ACL injuries are always heartbreaking. Doing it in the final game of the season is devastating, even more so when it’s the second time you’ve done it.
That was Megan Wynne’s story. Eleven months on, the Wales international is back in the fold to help the Glory in their bid to secure a return to the ALW finals.
The timing of her comeback couldn’t be better. Goals have been the hardest thing to come by for Stephen Peters’ side, and Wynne is a livewire in the final third who will make defences worried.
Her potential inclusion would ease some of the pressure on Rola Badawiya, who is in the midst of a rough patch, yet to score in 2026. Ironically, her last goal came against Adelaide, in a 1-0 win back in December.
The Reds are in fine form, and will be the hardest challenge for the Glory girls on the run home. If they can get at least a point, they should feel confident about the chances of finally breaking their finals hoodoo.
For the Matildas…
Does experience triumph over youthfulness?
Australia and North Korea are at opposite ends of the scale in terms of timeline for their national setup.
Australia is undoubtedly moving towards the end of a golden era, with a large portion of the starting squad over the age of 30, closing in on their final international tournaments.
Their quarter final opponents are just about to usher in a potential golden era. In 2024 and 2025, they won the U17 and U20 Women’s World Cups.
A few of those involved are in the squad for this tournament, their first Asian Cup since 2010. While youthful exuberance is on their side, the advantage of major tournament experience lies with the Matildas.
This could be the first of many trophies for the North Koreans in their promising future. It’s most likely the final chance for a lot of the Australians to pick up silverware.
Both enter this game on the back of disappointing results in their final group games. A big crowd and knockout football brings a different level of pressure. Whoever handles it best will win this game, and go onto a semifinal at Perth Stadium.
Predicted lineup (Glory)
Kucharski – Colakovski
Pennington – Freney – De Abreu – Tevere
Sutton – Wootton – Kaltak – Shamoon
Sutton
Predicted lineup (Matildas)
Foord – Kerr – Fowler
Gorry – Kennedy – Cooney-Cross
Nevin – Heatley – Hunt – Carpenter
Lincoln
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
