The Shed, The Bay and every Glory supporter were given plenty to cheer about on Saturday night as Jaylan Pearman’s fabulous strike earned the home side a 1-0 victory over Auckland FC.
David Zdrilic’s side managed to deliver the style of football promised at the beginning of his tenure, pressing effectively in numbers and passing the ball with confidence and precision not seen since the pre-season.
They have one last challenge to get through before the bye: a clash with the Wanderers tonight, their fourth in the space of 11 days.
In a game not short on storylines, here’s a look at what to look out for as midweek football returns to HBF Park.
Can they back it up?
It’s a simple question, but it is the most pertinent. This story has played out before, and each time the result has been overwhelmingly disappointing.
In the games immediately following the Glory’s previous win and their two draws, they lost 5-0, 2-0 and 3-0. In those losses, their total amount of shots on target was six.
History suggests not to get your hopes up, but the performance on Saturday completely contrasted the nature of their scrappy win over Brisbane and their two stalemates.
The linkup play was crisp, the press was executed well by everyone and the defence was steely, throwing themselves in front of everything with desperation we hadn’t seen until then.
Western Sydney will provide another stern test; they have a whole host of attacking talent capable of beating the best of defences.
This will show if the Glory have really turned a corner. A second strong performance and the rest of the season promises to be exciting; if not, then the doubts start to creep in again.
What reception will Stajcic receive?
Just as the clash with Sydney had some personal significance for David Zdrilic, tonight’s clash has a similar feel for Alen Stajcic.
It marks his return to the place he called home last season; to take on the manager the new owners replaced him with.
He enters with a point to prove and points to gain; the Wanderers sit five points adrift of the finals spots in eighth.
Perth crowds don’t tend to be forgiving or take kindly to seeing their former figureheads return in enemy colours.
Off the back of a win, the atmosphere at HBF Park should go up a level. On top of that, the presence of Juan Mata might get a few more through the door.
The battle between Staj and Zdrilic is sure to be an interesting watch. How the crowd reacts will be just as intriguing, and could provide the extra boost required to get over the line.
Predicted lineup
Taggart
Ngo – Pearman – Carluccio
Pennington – Gomulka
Lisolajski – Lebib – Mrcela – Risdon
Sail
And for the women…
Is a first win on the road incoming?
January shapes as a key month for the Glory girls, who need a win sooner rather than later to keep with the pack.
Caitlin Doeglas opened the scoring on the day she was signed as an injury replacement player to give the Glory the lead against Sydney, before Lucy Johnson found the equaliser out of nowhere in first half stoppage time.
A draw was a fair result in a relatively even contest. The Glory were the better of the two sides in the first half, but couldn’t maintain control in the second.
For Stephen Peters, it was a missed opportunity. At home against the bottom side, not getting the win would’ve been a slight disappointment.
They have a two game spell in Melbourne on the horizon, taking on the Victory on Saturday before a clash with Western United next Tuesday.
The Glory were unlucky not to earn a point in the reverse fixture against the Vuck, and should go in with optimism against Western, who have the equal worst defensive record in the league.
Reward for their efforts hasn’t come yet, but it will need to yield results soon if the girls are to mount a serious finals challenge.
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
