Ahead of the clash with Melbourne City, Ruben Zadkovich was relishing the chance to play the best team in the comp to see how we would stack up.
He certainly got an answer. We found out exactly where we stand against the top team in the A-League, and it’s a long way off.
The most disappointing aspect of the performance was we didn’t see the improvement or growth that the coach was looking for. In fact, we went backwards.
Our two games last year away at City yielded a loss and a draw, and whilst we were outplayed in both of those fixtures, we at least showed some attacking impetus and threat.
Six shots in the 1-0 loss and nine shots in the come from behind two-all draw. On the weekend, one shot for the entire game, none on target and no touches in the opposition box in the first 60 minutes.
It was as poor an attacking performance as you’re likely to see, worse than anything we dished up last season. We got swamped by the City press and couldn’t find a way to deal with it.
I’d rather not focus on him now he’s gone, but Bruno Fornaroli would have been so effective for us in this match. Someone to hold up the play and to win fouls, relieving some of the defensive pressure which Melbourne City have become known for.
Ben Azubel didn’t offer that option and really struggled as the lone man up front. A lot of the time the ball was put in the air in the hope he would get a few knock downs, but it never came to fruition, and it meant we kept losing the ball in the middle of the park.
The wide players had just as bad of a time as our Israeli striker. Salim Khelifi and Ryan Williams have been really good at running with the ball at defenders. Not once did they get that chance against City’s fullbacks. They had to drop so deep to get a sight of the ball, and every time they did there was a herd of blue shirts closing them down.
This is what lead to the opener in the 49th minute. Khelifi got dispossessed by Valon Berisha who threaded a great pass to Marco Tilio. He got closed down by three Glory defenders but managed to get the ball out to Jamie Maclaren on his own. He made no mistake from close range, keeping up his record of scoring in each game and maintaining his good form heading into the World Cup.
He found the back of the net for the second time from the penalty spot. Mitch Oxborrow came off the bench and within five minutes conceded a spot kick after a handball in the box. Maclaren drilled it into the bottom corner, giving Liam Reddy no chance at repeating his heroics against the Wanderers in his 150th appearance for the club.
The floodgates really opened up in the second half when the game was put out of reach by that penalty. Tilio found the back of the net from a shot outside the box, firing to the near post past Darryl Lachman and leaving Reddy stranded in the middle of the goal.
The last nail was hammered into the coffin by Mathew Leckie in the dying minutes of the contest. A clever run by Richard van der Venne was matched by an equally good pass into his path. His shot across goal rebounded off the post fortuitously to Leckie, getting a well-deserved goal in a man of the match performance.
Conceding three goals in the last 20 minutes doesn’t look good for our defence, but I thought they did a decent job throughout, especially in the first half. Jack Clisby had a tough time dealing with Tilio but had good cover whenever he got beaten for pace.
I was very glad to see Joseph Forde get a run out for the first time this season. He played very well in the 2-0 win against City at the end of last season and brings more spark and positivity out of defence, which we have lacked in the opening rounds. He was forced to do a lot of defending on City’s left-hand side and didn’t look out of his depth, executing a brilliant slide tackle on Jordan Bos in the first half.
Patrick Kisnorbo’s side have top spot to themselves, equalling their best start to a season with 13 points from a possible 15. Leckie and Tilio were excellent for the home side, constantly a threat and both getting on the scoresheet. Maclaren continues to make me regret not picking him in my fantasy side and I thought Berisha was superb in the midfield.
A lot of question marks for the Glory heading into the World Cup break, and they require answering. A month without fixtures to find some more creativity and fluidity in the attack and reflect on the first five games. A solitary win is not what we had hoped for, and while our points tally is less than what it was at this stage last season, we are definitely in a stronger position now to attack the rest of the season.
I’m very excited for home games at Macedonia Park, and I look forward to seeing the Glory live for the first time since preseason.
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