Adam Griffiths will be praying déjà vu doesn’t strike again when his charges take the field against Melbourne City at AAMI Park in their final match of 2025.
The two sides faced off earlier in the season, in what turned out to be the final straw for the Pelligra Group, who swiftly announced the departure of David Zdrilic days later.
Three of the last four meetings between these two in the league have ended in heavy defeats for the Glory (4-0 in Round 2, 5-0 at home last November, and an infamous 8-0 drubbing under Alen Stajcic).
The Glory girls face the same opposition in the opening match of the double-header, hoping to build on consecutive 1-0 wins at home.
Coincidentally, the goal difference for the men and the women is the exact same. An away win for either would be a big statement, and put them into the top six heading into 2026.
Can the slow starts be fixed?
On the whole, the defensive elements of the Glory’s game have improved twofold with Griffiths at the helm.
However, the last two weeks has exposed a glaring issue which needs to be addressed: the tendency to concede early goals.
The Glory have conceded in the opening 15 minutes in five of their nine matches. Nearly half of all goals conceded have come in this timeframe.
They have lost four of those five matches. Giving away the advantage early doors is a momentum killer, especially when your side lacks a killer instinct in front of goal.
Melbourne City’s attacking form hasn’t been great. Only once in their last seven have they scored more than once, but as we’ve seen, one is probably enough to beat the Glory currently.
Getting off to a strong start is crucial in this fixture. Depriving City of confidence and frustrating them when they go forward are the keys to winning this game.
Is Taggart fit?
At the other end of the field, there are much larger problems to worry about. With key personnel out, scoring goals was always going to be a struggle.
Tom Lawrence was the only player who looked like finding the back of the net after Craig Goodwin put Adelaide into the lead last weekend.
The two best chances of the last fortnight fell to Brian Kaltak from set-pieces. From open play, nowhere near enough clear cut chances are being created.
What is needed more than anything is Adam Taggart back leading the line. The dimension of the whole frontline changes when he’s in the picture.
His availability is up in the air. A full game is unlikely, but even a short cameo increases the likelihood of walking away with points by a large percentage.
While some of the big names are out, others need to up their game. Arion Sulemani & Khoa Ngo received good minutes without generating much output.
They’re not the only ones. For a lot of the youngsters, now is their time to impress, and so far their impact has been minimal.
And for the Glory girls…
How do they stack up?
There was a bit of déjà vu about the Glory girls performance against Adelaide, once again holding firm defensively to grind out a 1-0 win.
Where they truly stand in the ALW pecking order will be discovered this week when they take on Melbourne City away.
In their previous two encounters with City, the Glory have had 10 put past them. It’s a big ask for the back four and Teresa Morrissey.
How effectively they can counter punch will be just as important. Against Adelaide, they were sloppy in possession, missing regulation passes in admittedly tricky conditions.
They cannot afford to do the same thing against a team this good. We’re going to find out if this side really has turned a corner or if the home form is just a flash in the pan.
Predicted lineup
Lawrence – Popovic
Ngo – Pennington – Freney – Ostler
Sutton – Wootton – Kaltak – Shamoon
Sutton
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
