The Glory put together arguably their best 90 minute performance of the season against the Mariners; it’s a shame their control of the game wasn’t shown on the scoresheet.
Most of the blame for the two points dropped was put onto Oli Sail for letting in the equaliser. The rest of it was on the Glory’s failure to put away some good chances late in the contest.
They have a chance to make up for it today against Melbourne City, who enter the game on a poor run of form. They’ve lost their last three and didn’t score in any of them.
The caveat is those games have all been on the road. In the three games before that, all at home, they won and didn’t concede.
As for the Glory girls, they are back at home for a Distance Derby against the Phoenix. A welcome return following losses to Canberra and Adelaide.
With love in the air and points up for grabs, the talking points for two big games.
Glory’s English Valentine – will he be the one?
The Glory’s relationship with English players has been a mixed bag over the years. Two MGP winners in the form of Mark Beevers and Andy Todd combined with the failures of ex-Premier League strikers Brian Deane and Daniel Sturridge.
Now, Luke Amos has been added to the list. The 27-year-old midfielder has made the move after exiting Hibernian, where he wasn’t getting sufficient minutes.
Lack of game time is a concern; on the other side, his injury history isn’t massive and he comes into the side at a good age with a decent background in the Championship.
As far as this relationship goes, it’s short term but open to long. He’s contracted until the end of the season with the option to extend for another year if he impresses.
It’s a signing which should excite the fans. The midfield hasn’t been the same since the days of Neil Kilkenny and Juande. On paper, the pairing of Amos and Nicholas Pennington could be just as good.
Does Sail keep his spot?
There is no getting around it. The biggest selection decision this weekend will be who gets the nod in between the sticks.
Oli Sail has been inconsistent in his last five. He was super against Auckland, but followed it up with a shaky outing against the Wanderers.
Against the Victory he performed well, and in the first half against the Mariners made a few good saves. Then Haine Eames had a shot from distance, and we know what followed.
David Zdrilic has switched keepers twice already; Sail started the first four matches, Cameron Cook was chosen for the next six, and Sail has played the last seven.
As loud as the noise has been, if I had the choice I would keep Sail in goals for this week. Give him a chance to make amends for what happened last game.
Beyond that we will see. Consistency is key for a keeper. If Sail doesn’t manage to string a couple of good games together, then Cook should be given another go.
Predicted lineup
Wood – Taggart
Mileusnic – Pennington – Gomulka – Wales
Hamzaoui – Mourdoukoutas – Mrcela – Okamoto
Sail
And for the women…
Can they get the basics right?
It’s a simple question and a simple focus which Stephen Peters emphasised in his pre-match press conference.
The fundamentals went missing in the 3-0 loss to Adelaide, a game where the Glory were always on the back foot and conceded five big chances.
An easier task lays ahead on Sunday with Wellington making the long trip over, looking to end a three game winless which has them four points shy of the top six.
A high scoring game shouldn’t be expected. Goals have been hard to come by for the Phoenix, but they’ve made up for it by being solid in defence.
Breaching that defence will be the key to victory; in each of the Glory’s three wins, they’ve scored three goals.
Keeping it simple might be the trick, and might help them finally secure a first clean sheet of the season.
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
