HBF Park’s final hitout for 2024 perfectly encapsulated the troublesome year on the field for the Perth Glory. A narrow loss to the women due to a defensive mix up, followed by the men who were dispatched with relative ease by Macarthur.
The start of a new year can reinvigorate and re-energise; David Zdrilic will be hoping his side can begin shifting the tide when they take on Western United at home tonight.
As for Stephen Peters, his year kicks off in New Zealand as the Glory girls make the trip across the ditch for a Distance Derby with Wellington on Saturday.
Will it be New Year, New Glory? The talking points to mark the opening weekend of A-League action for 2025.
Can errors be kept to a minimum?
Good teams will punish mistakes, and that’s exactly what the Bulls managed to do last Friday night against Glory.
All of Macarthur’s shots on target found the back of the net to turn what could have been a stumbling block into a comfortable 3-0 victory.
The Glory did well to keep Macarthur to 12 shots and three on target, but were made to pay on each occasion for not clearing their lines.
A long ball over the top eluded the lunge of Riley Warland, gifting Jed Drew a clear opening on goal which he duly converted.
For the second, Warland was dispossessed by Kealey Adamson in a mix of three Glory defenders, one of which was the young left back.
Then in the second half, Adam Bugarija lost the ball just outside the box, resulting in Ariath Piol’s final nail in the coffin on the night.
The Glory have shown on occasion they can be solid in defence; when that has happened, unnecessary errors have undone that work.
Western United’s front two of Noah Botic and Hiroshi Ibusuki will pounce on mistakes when given the chance. Not giving them a sniff will be crucial if the Glory are to win at home for the first time this season.
With signings inbound, who ups their game?
No secret has been made around the Glory’s plans for January; assurances have been given that there will be new players entering the fold in the next four weeks.
More players in means more competition for spots in the starting lineup. This should be good for the team, and elevate the performances of those already in the squad.
When your spot is on the line, you need to put your best foot forward in order to keep it. At the moment, there are only a couple of players who have been good enough to guarantee a starting position week in, week out.
With four games in the space of 11 days, there will be opportunities for most players to get a good crack.
It could be their last chance with new faces coming into the equation. We’ve seen Andriano Lebib come from out of the blue to start the last two games. He’s taken his opportunity; let’s see who else can follow suit.
Predicted lineup
Taggart
Anasmo – Bugarija – Ostler
Pennington – Gomulka
Lisolajski – Lebib – Mrcela – Risdon
Cook
And for the women…
Will they finally get reward for effort?
Fine margins have cost the Glory girls this season, leaving them in ninth spot with two wins from eight matches.
There are signs of improvement, but it hasn’t shown in the results. The last four games have yielded the same amount of points as the first four.
Three of their next four are away from home, making the job even tougher to turn narrow losses into close victories.
Wellington away is a difficult trip; the Phoenix have won their last two at home and have a good record defensively.
Goals are the difference, and the Glory haven’t been able to score enough. Luckily, Wellington have had similar issues in attack.
One good result can do wonders. A first win on the road or even getting a first clean sheet of the season would be a monkey off the back and an ideal way to begin a busy month of football.
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
Just I don’t understand with player made three terrible mistake and the result three goals because of him and he always in the team sheet could some one give me the answer ,thanks