It’s the hope that kills you. The Glory were minutes away from a first home victory of the season and left with nothing after conceding twice in stoppage time to Western United.
The heartbreak came with a few silver linings; finally, some goals at HBF Park for the fans to celebrate and the emergence of Jaylan Pearman, who was excellent on debut.
Focus quickly shifts to tonight’s game against the Sky Blues at Allianz Stadium, where David Zdrilic will face his former side and the last manager he worked under as an assistant, Ufuk Talay.
A fascinating clash awaits between the two sides; one which hopefully goes a little bit better than last time.
Is this the last hurrah for Hamzaoui?
There has been much discussion regarding the exits of Cristian Caicedo and Luis Canga in the last few weeks, and fewer chatter on the two remaining imports in the side.
Hiroaki Aoyama hasn’t been sighted since Unite Round and looks to be on the outer after failing to impress in his four appearances thus far.
Then there’s Anas Hamzaoui. Injury hassles kept the Belgian sidelined for the entirety of December, but he returned to the bench and came on as a late sub against Western United despite being listed as unavailable beforehand.
It was a risk that didn’t pay off, with his impact proving more harmful than beneficial. His direct opponent, Tate Russell, scored the equaliser after making a run unopposed to the back post.
Tim Payne scored a similar goal for Wellington back in Round 2, taking advantage of Hamzaoui’s ball watching to score an open header from close range.
For an overseas player, the left back has underdelivered. With Zach Lisolajski and Riley Warland also to choose from, his spot is far from guaranteed.
Rotation should allow him to regain fitness and pick up some form in the next few weeks, but if he can’t do it, then he also might be on the outer.
Has the No. 10 issue been solved?
David Zdrilic has given multiple players the chance to play in attacking midfield and be the main link between the holding midfielders and the rest of the attack.
Jaylan Pearman was the latest to be tested, and boy did he pass with flying colours in his debut appearance.
An assist to Taggart from a wonderful pass was the pick of the bunch from his 60 minutes on the pitch, which also included a powerful long-range strike to get the crowd going.
On one hand, he is still raw and shouldn’t be expected to put in consistently good performances from now on. On the other, what we saw from the 18-year-old on Friday night is more than any of the other options in the no. 10 role have shown up to this point.
Western United have been impressive this season, but Sydney is a different level despite their table position. It’s a loftier challenge for the teenager; a chance to see how he stacks up against one of the competition’s premier sides.
Master v Apprentice – who wins the battle?
Coaches will never say particular games or facing particular teams is more important than others. He may have downplayed it, but I think coming up against Sydney has more personal meaning than David Zdrilic is letting on.
His connection with the club goes a while back. While it is significant, what might mean more is the chance to get one up on the man he worked under last season.
The apprentice always wants to eclipse the master, and the master is out to show why they are in that position and hold that title.
The extra feeling is there, and with pressure on both coaches there’s added reason for Zdrilic and Ufuk Talay to want to win the battle on the touchline.
For Perth, the goal is to build on a more positive performance and get a second win of the season. For Sydney, the task will be to return to their usual winning ways.
With one win in their last five and leaking goals, the opportunity is there to get at the Sydney defence. How Zdrilic approaches the contest will be interesting to see.
Predicted lineup
Taggart
Ngo – Pearman – Carluccio
Pennington – O’Neill
Lisolajski – Barr – Mrcela – Risdon
Sail
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
