For the glass half-full brigade, a clean sheet and a draw away from home against the reigning champions showed progress is being made by David Zdrilic.
On the other hand, the half-empties will point to another dour offensive performance, again with no spark in the attacking third, very few chances created and in the end, no goals scored.
Both are true. The defensive improvements of the last two weeks haven’t translated at the other end of the pitch, much to the frustration of the fans and for the player suffering the most from it, Adam Taggart.
They’re back at home this weekend, and will look to pounce on a weakened Melbourne City. Here are the talking points.
Are we due for a goalfest?
The form of the individual sides suggests this won’t be the case. City haven’t scored multiple goals in a game yet and the Glory have scored one in total. However, clashes between the Glory and City tend to deliver great spectacles for the neutral.
Think back to the 5-4 win in the Australia Cup back in August, or the 4-2 victory at HBF Park last season. And who can forget the three classic encounters from the 2016/17 season, which included another 5-4 Glory win.
The injuries to Marco Tilio and Andrew Nabbout are a massive blow for Aurelio Vidmar, and will greatly help Glory’s cause on the defensive end.
They’ll have to rely on their young stars Zane Schreiber and Harry Politidis, who both scored in the Australia Cup fixture. Mathew Leckie is also available, and has a knack of finding the net in Perth.
From a Glory perspective, the Australia Cup should be used as motivation. City’s defence will be very similar to the one from three months ago that had five put past them.
Obviously much has changed for both sides since then, but sometimes the more things change, they stay the same. This fixture rarely disappoints and despite what we’ve seen, my gut feeling is Sunday will be an exciting watch.
Keep changing or stick to something?
It’s been a major point of discussion and shows no sign of going away. Who steps up to make the no.10 position their own and who fits in around it?
Three players have been tried there and it hasn’t clicked for any of them. Adam Bugarija has shown glimpses, while Hiroaki Aoyama struggled again on the weekend and got subbed at half time for the third straight game.
The last of the tried options is Taras Gomulka. With Abdul Faisal locking down a spot on the left, the 23-year-old is in my eyes the best option to fill the role long term.
Going back to the Australia Cup, he was a key cog in that Round of 32 victory with four assists in a man of the match performance.
His versatility also gives David Zdrilic a chance to change the outlook of the team. In a midfield three with Nicholas Pennington and Brandon O’Neill, he can go with two no. 6’s and a 10 or play one as a 6 and have two 8’s. With the latter, the wingers can play closer to Taggart to get him more involved in the play.
There aren’t many more options the manager can try. Yes, it’s going to take more time for him to figure out who works best in his system. Eventually though, he will have to persist with one of the options, to give them the time to build consistently and hopefully output in the long run.
Predicted lineup
Taggart
Faisal – Gomulka – Williams
Pennington – O’Neill
Lisolajski – Canga – Barr – Carluccio
Sail
Last question goes to the ALW side…
How resilient is this squad?
Fifty-five minutes into his first game as coach, all was rosy for Stephen Peters. Then in the space of 20 minutes, it quickly turned sour.
A four-goal burst in that period from Melbourne City turned a comfortable 2-0 lead into a 4-2 deficit, which proved too much for the Glory women to wrestle back in the final 20.
A fifth goal right at the end put the finishing touch on a dominant second half display from the reigning premiers, who were as good as Glory were lacklustre.
It was a complete defensive breakdown, and will need to be rectified if they are to pick up their first points this weekend against Newcastle.
There’s a lot to learn, but just as much to be positive about after getting into a 2-0 lead against a quality side, in what was their first hit out against ALW opposition.
The response will be interesting to see. If they get into the lead, can they hold their nerve and if they go behind, will they be able to get the game back under control or at least prevent it from slipping away as quickly as it did against City.
I’m looking forward to seeing how far this squad can go. There is clearly potential; Sunday afternoon is a great opportunity to show it to the fans and to get not only their first win of the season, but in the calendar year too.
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
