When a goalkeeper is considered to be one of the top performers in a losing side, you know it hasn’t been a great day at the office.
Cameron Cook’s impressive form since returning to the starting lineup has been a shining light in the early stages of the season; one of a few glimmers of hope, not the beacon some fans may have unrealistically hoped for.
A sudden turnaround wasn’t to be expected, but I had anticipated a bigger change in fortune when it came to Glory’s much talked about away form.
Three losses from three to sit eighth on the ladder. Doesn’t sound so bad, but we’re five points off the top six and a point above the bottom.
Brisbane were well-deserving of their 2-1 win at Suncorp Stadium. They were completely dominant in the first half with 70% possession and a multitude of opportunities to open the scoring.
Florin Berenguer came close to giving the Roar the lead within 90 seconds but was denied by Cook’s sharp save from close range.
Taras Gomulka blazed a shot well over the top and Nikola Mileusnic’s deflected cross skimmed off the crossbar. These were all within the opening four minutes of the game.
The Roar continued to probe and thought they had found the breakthrough when Louis Zabala had found the net late in the half before the flag was raised.
Jarrod Carluccio went through the same experience at the same end early in the second half, slotting away nicely past Macklin Freke from Adam Taggart’s pinpoint pass across the box, but the striker had strayed offside in the buildup.
Despite the improved showing from Perth, Brisbane eventually found their goal through Henry Hore. Jay O’Shea went in hard on Oli Bozanic to win a loose ball near the edge of the area. His perfectly weighted pass allowed Hore to strike low and hard first time, perfectly into the side netting.
Just like the Wanderers match before it, the lead was doubled less than 10 minutes later. A string of neat passes in and around the box found their way to O’Shea. His first attempt was blocked and came back to him, this time hitting it with his left and wrong-footing Cook in the process.
The Roar’s two goal lead never looked in danger, although they did hold on for the last few minutes when the deficit was halved. Aaron McEneff won and took a stoppage time free kick which clattered the crossbar. The ball bounced back into a crowd of players and it was Aleksander Susnjar who won it and headed it home into an empty net.
Two important takeaways from the game were the decision making in the final third and the struggle to hold possession. The midfield pairing has been outplayed in most games this season, failing to dictate the play and link up effectively with the wide players and the two strikers.
The injuries to McEneff and Mustafa Amini haven’t helped the cause, but with both coming close to full fitness I expect to see them start to feature regularly once fully fit. The other omission has been Luke Bodnar, who has made one appearance off the bench for a total of six minutes.
More suited to the role of defensive midfielder, I feel he could be more of an effective option for Alen Stajcic, allowing Colli or Bozanic to get higher up and influence proceedings furtherup the pitch.
The attack is yet to find their feet, no doubt hampered by the injuries Salim Khelifi and Taggart have dealt with. They are without doubt the two best options for goals and creativity.
Daniel Bennie has played second striker with Taggart for most games so far. I’ve been impressed with how he’s fitted into the side at such a young age, but his best position is playing out on the left.
Khelifi has been playing on that side but can also play on the right, as we saw him do last season as a wingback. Bennie and Khelifi out wide with Taggart up top with another proper striker in Ivanovic is an option the manager could look to in the next game.
Glory girls fall short for the first time
Alex Epakis and the women’s team lost top spot and their first game of the season against Wellington, going down 2-1 after taking the lead going into the break.
Millie Farrow finally broke her drought with an unconventional finish on the floor having been played in by Sofia Sakalis.
The Phoenix dominated the shot count and found their leveller through Hope Breslin, finding space in the box and calmy slotting past Aquino at her near post.
Just after the hour mark a looping header onto the bar rebounded to Chloe Knott, who managed to get her header on target and past Aquino. Liz Anton’s last-minute effort to clear the ball away was in vain.
She came close to finding the equaliser late in the game from distance, but not enough to beat Rylee Foster in the Phoenix net.
Wrap
The international break for women’s football is in effect this weekend, giving the women a week off to prepare for a first vs second clash with new ladder leaders Melbourne City.
The men’s team get another chance to quash their away hoodoo against fellow strugglers Sydney FC. The Sky Blues have been much more impressive under Ufuk Talay, dominating in Adelaide and falling just short to top of the table Western Sydney in the derby.
All five of their goals this season came in the win against Adelaide, despite their star-studded attack featuring Robert Mak and Joe Lolley.
Both managers have a proven track record of taking teams from the bottom half of the table into the finals, and they’ll need a victory if they are to keep pace with the top six and get their season properly rolling.
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