All eyes will be on Auckland tomorrow afternoon, as the league’s newest club need a point to guarantee the Premier’s Plate in their debut season in the A-League.
Of course, the celebrations can begin early for Steve Corica’s side if Melbourne City fail to beat Adelaide tonight.
The Glory are merely a side piece on this occasion. Depending on tonight, they can either put the party on hold or watch on as The Port get to do what The Shed did back in 2019.
Pride is still on the line for David Zdrilic; he likely needs to win both of the remaining games to avoid picking up the wooden spoon in his first season as coach.
Ahead of the Glory’s penultimate outing, some of the talking points as part one of the New Zealand trip begins.
Will Despotovski get a run?
The surname is iconic, recognisable, and could feature on an A-League pitch for the first time since 2007. The National Premier League (NPL) form of Seb Despotovski has been rewarded with a callup to the first team squad.
Four goals in his last outing against Perth Redstar, two in the game before including a peach of a free kick. Like father like son I guess.
This moment was inevitable. The 19-year-old has trained with the first team and has been doing well according to David Zdrilic.
Now we wait to see if he gets a crack this weekend. All we know is he’s with the travelling party, but I suspect he’ll be doing more than just that.
These last two games are a golden learning opportunity for the young forward to work with Adam Taggart and pick up some experience at the top level.
The coach says he wants to integrate young players. He has no problem throwing them in the deep end. If he sticks true to that statement, Despotovski gets game time at Go Media Stadium.
Who wins the battle of the Kiwi keepers?
Teammates at the Phoenix, teammates at national level. Now they’re at clubs that couldn’t be further away from each other geographically and on the league table.
Oli Sail’s departure from the Phoenix to Perth opened the door to stardom for Alex Paulsen. From second choice to Goalkeeper of the Year, the Phoenix Members’ Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year.
Now on loan at Auckland, he is the backline general for the league’s best defence. The sky is the limit for the 22-year-old.
For Oli Sail, it hasn’t gone to plan. Back-to-back spoons on the cards, patchy form and the unfortunate record of 86 goals conceded in the 35 matches he has played in purple.
On his day, he is a very good keeper. In the previous match against Auckland, he starred with four saves and kept a clean sheet.
His best hasn’t been seen enough for Perth. If they are to get something from this, he will need to be at his best and better than Paulsen for it to happen.
Return of the Majekodunmi?
From out of the blue, Kaelan Majekodunmi was thrust into the starting lineup and was brilliant in the 4-1 win over Adelaide two weeks ago.
Eleven clearances, 5/7 duels won and made life hell for Archie Goodwin, who is equal top of the golden boot race. Goodwin had 20 touches (the least of those who played 90 minutes) and failed to have a shot.
Message sent and a strong reminder of his capabilities. Breaking through last season, he was in the top percentiles for aerial duels, recoveries and as a threat going forward.
The 21-year-old was at risk of falling by the wayside; the last game was his first start since the opening round horror show at Macarthur.
Now he has reemerged right back into the fold. Two good games to finish off the season, we could be talking about a young and exciting Majekodunmi x Lebib partnership for 2025/26.
Predicted lineup
Taggart – Pearman
Mileusnic – Pennington – Amos – Ngo
Misao – Mrcela – Majekodunmi – Risdon
Sail
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
