In our most important game of the season, against one of the worst performing sides at home, I expected better from the Perth Glory.
Another chance to break into the top six and build some momentum heading into the final two games of the home and away season. A narrow loss I could have accepted, but a three-goal defeat and a poor defensive showing is a massive let down.
The first full season of the Ruben Zadkovich has seen more positives than negatives. To still be in with a chance of making the finals is a big step forward from 12 months ago. It’s just a shame our poor away form will be the reason we likely miss out.
It makes for grim reading; six points from a possible 39, one win from 13 games with three draws sprinkled in amongst the 10 losses. The Tour of Duty is a fantastic supporter initiative and I am looking forward to doing a trip. The support those travelling fans offered in the last two games was immense and they will be disappointed with what they saw last weekend.
What’s clear for everyone to see now is just how important Mark Beevers is to the backline. His absence was felt in a big way against the Sky Blues and they took full advantage. Darryl Lachman is a good defender and Jordan Elsey has been decent at multiple clubs. Beevers has that extra presence and always seems to be in the perfect position to make a challenge or clearance. His leadership would have been handy to have when the goals were coming thick and fast in the second half.
The scoring got underway inside 10 minutes and it was Adam Le Fondre on the end of it. Rhyan Grant, Joe Lolley and Max Burgess linked up out wide, with Burgess sliding it through to Grant who then drilled it across the box to Le Fondre for a tap in.
It must be said from the outset Sydney were up for the contest and controlled the early stages. Their ball movement was much more fluid than ours and they managed to find each other in space so much easier than we managed to. There were so many times a Glory player would run with the ball out wide and have no passing options, or there would be nothing on offer and we had to circulate the ball back through the defence.
Despite being second-best in the opening half, we managed to go in at the break level. Adam Taggart started the set-up with a nice pass to Amini in space. He managed to slide it through to Adam Zimarino, who shaped to curl it on his left and did so perfectly past Andrew Redmayne to score his first A-League goal.
It didn’t take Sydney long to get back into the lead when the game restarted. Grant found Lolley on the run out wide, his touch turning into a neat flick on for Le Fondre to get on the end of. The striker passed it back inside for his fellow Englishman to find the back of the net and restore the Sky Blues advantage.
The third came 11 minutes later when Mak was picked out in acres of space between the two centre backs by Joel King. Lachman came across but was put on his back side by the Slovak and calmly slotted the ball past Cook, ensuring all of Sydney’s front three got on the scoresheet.
The final blow came from Rhyan Grant, scoring against the Glory again. A corner made its way to Anthony Caceres, who went past Ryan Williams and played a driven pass into the middle for Grant to tap in from close range. Why he was allowed that much freedom to make a dangerous run in a dangerous area I still don’t know.
It’s hard to pinpoint just one or two Sydney players from this match, they all chipped in with solid performances. It’s hard to see them missing out on finals now with two easier games in the run home and Wellington continuing to stumble. Mak was the pick of the bunch for me, but that doesn’t take anything away from the likes of Lolley and Le Fondre.
The defeat put a solid dent in the Glory’s hopes of making the finals but they’re not out of the equation yet. Wellington and Newcastle losing has opened the door for us to be right in the mix in the final round of the season if we can clear our penultimate hurdle.
Action at HBF Park is back, with Adelaide travelling west for a huge clash. A win for the Reds puts them in the box seat to finish second, while it is truly do-or-die for Ruben Zadkovich. It’s all on the line tomorrow night, as we look to keep our season alive.
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