Far Post Perth News & Views

Three intriguing questions ahead of Glory’s Central Coast clash

The return of the A-League to HBF Park for another season didn’t deliver the result or the performance many people would have hoped for.

While it was an improvement on the week before, although managing that wasn’t difficult, more of it needs to come quickly to prevent the rest of the league from galloping away from the Glory at this early stage of the new campaign.

With an away trip on the horizon against the reigning champions, most of the questions David Zdrilic has to answer surround the struggles of the attack.

Who is creating the chances?

For a team who scored the fourth most goals last season, finding the back of the net has proven difficult for this new look Glory outfit in the opening rounds.

Against both Macarthur and Wellington, they were kept to under 10 shots in total and had an xG of 0.31 according to FOTMOB.

It’s been a complete role reversal from pre-season, where the team scored multiple goals in every match, including hauls of five and four in the Australia Cup.

Adam Taggart has been starved of opportunities to do what he does best, so the question is who will give him the service he desires and requires?

Abdul Faisal is the obvious answer that comes to mind. He’s been the liveliest of the wide players, and can play as a no.10 according to Stan Lazaridis.

While the youngster has played well on the left, a move more centrally could change the dynamic of the frontline for the better.

The holding midfielders have just as important a role to play in this. They need to move the ball quicker and give the attack more room to work with, and we’ve seen what they can do when that happens.

Will Caicedo bring the ‘wow’ factor?

Not since the latest Owen Wilson movie has the word “wow” been uttered more than by Glory’s own Director of Football Stan Lazaridis.

So far, the wow signings haven’t lived up to the lofty expectations put on them by the man who signed them. Of the four imports brought in there’s only one we haven’t seen in the first fortnight. He’s the most unknown quantity, but could have the biggest X-factor of the lot.

Saturday could be the first chance for most Glory fans to see Christian Caicedo in action. With less than an hour of match time in preseason, he will most likely feature off the bench.

A short highlights package shows a pacy little winger with a powerful left foot strike. Against Wellington, there wasn’t enough dare and directness from the forwards to cause the Phoenix any harm.

Flair and the confidence to take players on are his key attributes. It’s what the Glory need for him to deliver, and if he can do it right off the bat then he will immediately improve the attack, and will quickly become the fan favourite Stan believes he can be.

Which Glory will turn up?

Glory at HBF Park and Glory anywhere else for the last couple of seasons has been hot and cold. Night and day. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

We’ve seen both already, although the first HBF Park outing was a downgrade on what we saw the team often deliver there under Alen Stajcic.

Away form has been consistently bad for a long time. Will it change, or should we expect more of the same?

My suspicion is that we’ll see a performance and result more similar to last week than in Round One.

With a more settled backline and against a side who have also struggled to score in the early rounds, it would surprise me if the game were to be very lopsided.

In the 2022/23 season, the Glory won their only away game against the Mariners in Gosford, and in the last seven meetings between the teams, the Glory have only lost once.

History suggests a positive result is very possible, but only if the team bring the right attitude and are in the right mindset from the off. If not, it’s going to be another long day at the office.

Predicted lineup

Williams – Taggart

Faisal – Gomulka – Pennington – Ngo

Hamzaoui – Canga – Barr – Carluccio

Sail

And one for the A-League Women

How will this new look squad go?

Stephen Peters has built an almost entirely new team for the Glory’s latest crack at the A-League Women, most of it by necessity rather than choice.

Several key departures including Morgan Aquino, Jess Cowart, Hana Lowry and Millie Farrow left many shoes to be filled in important areas of the pitch.

Casey Dumont, Megan Wynne and Onyinyechi Zogg have filled some of the spots mentioned, but all are unavailable for the opening round and won’t be back for at least a few weeks.

The news is worse for Susan Phonsongkham, who will miss three to four months with an ankle injury.

If there is a positive, the injuries provide the opportunity for a whole host of young players to show what they can do.

The likes of Miranda Templeman, Georgia Cassidy, Tanika Lala and Ella Lincoln could all feature against Melbourne City on Sunday and cement themselves as regulars for the season ahead.

It will be a tough ask first up, but with a longer season this time around there is more time for the squad to gel. Consistency should be the aim; after a great start last season, the form dramatically dipped at the turn of the new year.

Getting into the finals will be a tough ask given the strength of the league, but if there’s a coach who can lift a team to those heights, then it is Stephen Peters.

All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.

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