Perth Glory home games are typically a mix of goals, entertainment, and chaos, and this one was no exception. Unfortunately, on this occasion, it was the Glory who bore the brunt of a relentless Adelaide United, who secured a resounding 4-2 comeback win.
In challenging conditions with temperatures hovering in the mid-30s, it was the Glory who kicked off the game with a bang. Given their historical struggles to start games well this season, their energetic start came as a pleasant surprise.
It was pretty clear that the Glory were wanting to use their transition play to exploit the Reds, as Adelaide would push several bodies forward.
There’s no doubt that Alen Stajcic would’ve felt that the hold-up ability of a player like Adam Taggart and the speed of the wide players, particularly Daniel Bennie, would cause problems for United on the counterattack.
The first opportunity of the game fell to the Glory through Daniel Bennie, as Adam Taggart surged forward from midfield, delivering a well-weighted through ball. Bennie’s shot forced a good save from Adelaide’s goalkeeper, James Delianov.
The opening goal saw a reversal of roles, with Johnny Koutroumbis supplying a pinpoint pass to Bennie, who delivered a perfectly placed cross for Taggart to volley home on the second attempt, giving the Glory the lead.
It was a great finish, as it was Bennie, who’s had a very strong second half of the season, played a very influential role in the goal and then Taggart, who wasn’t his best self against Sydney on Wednesday night, was able to get the finish to reward Glory’s decent start to the game.
The second goal stemmed from excellent combination play on the right flank, once again orchestrated by Daniel Bennie. Bennie’s delivery found Taggart, who cleverly evaded his marker to slot home.
It was a great start to the game, and it was a little unfamiliar to not only see the Glory starting the game well but to also have a 2-goal lead, as Glory often haven’t led games in the first half.
However not only two minutes later, the Reds found their breakthrough goal, after some very poor defending from the Glory – and it won’t be the last time I’ll be saying that in this review.
United got back into the game after exploiting unfortunately a recurrent defensive lapse from the Glory. Javi Lopez’s cross found Ryan Kitto, who nodded the ball into the path of Hiroshi Ibusuki for a simple finish.
Clearly, the Glory didn’t heed Adelaide’s first warning attempt early on in the contest that came from Ibusuki, and the Reds were back in the game.
Daniel Bennie was unfortunate not to extend the Glory’s lead a few minutes later, as Gio Colli played a decent through ball to the advantage of Bennie, and the 17-year-old winger did really well to outmuscle Ben Warland, and his subsequent powerful strike on goal was well saved by Delianov.
Despite opportunities for the Glory to extend their lead, notably that powerful effort from Bennie, Adelaide capitalised on more defensive errors to equalise. Nestory Irankunda orchestrated both the second and third goals, showcasing his craftiness in setting up Zach Clough and Stefan Mauk for impressive finishes.
United’s dominance continued, as they jumped out of the blocks in the second half, just as they ended the first half. Isaias played a delightful long ball to Stefan Mauk, who brought the ball down for Hiroshi Ibusuki to absolutely leather his second goal of the game into the top left corner.
All of Adelaide’s goals were well crafted and they deserved the lead. That didn’t stop the Glory from trying to find a way back into the game and they should’ve via David Williams in the 66th minute, who uncharacteristically missed his shot from point blank.
Adelaide could’ve had a fifth goal if it wasn’t for Oli Sail pulling off a smart save, as Riley Warland lost the ball on the halfway line and Nestroy Irankunda burst through, where you would’ve bet your house on the young winger finding the back of the net, only for Irankunda to fire straight into Sail in goal.
The game finished quite chaotically, as Darryl Lachman pumped a long ball forward to the advantage of David Williams, who then tried to poke the ball out of Delianov’s hands, but was unable to get a shot away.
Ultimately this was another game characterised by some good attacking play from the Glory but some woeful defending being the clear Achilles heel. You could argue that the defending on all of Adelaide’s goals was poor.
How could Ibusuki be left by himself in the box, unmarked for his first goal? Who was marking Zach Clough for Adelaide’s second? How did none of the players, all three of them, not get the ball off Irankunda for the lead-up to that goal?
Then for Mauk’s goal, that was poor from Musti Amini, in my view.
I know it was really hot and he probably was really tired, but that was a weak effort from a senior player to try and deal with Stefan Mauk’s run forward, where he tried to pull him back and then it seemed like he almost gave up. This lack of attention to detail is where the Glory have shot themselves in the foot on so many occasions this season.
Alen Stajcic stated that he felt the players were probably at their worst defensively, at least since the Central Coast Mariners capitulation on New Year’s Eve. He spoke about the lack of fight from in critical moments, and just how bad the Glory were without the ball, and he wasn’t wrong.
If the Glory do end up getting the wooden spoon, which is likely, ultimately it’s been a tough season, especially off the field and that’s been well documented. But the defending, over the whole season, has been unacceptable. Pathetic at times even. There’s a lot of work to do in the off season, there’s no question about it.
On a positive note, however, credit to both Daniel Bennie and Adam Taggart. Those two were Glory’s best and they never stopped fighting or giving everything, particularly in those attacking sequences, they were excellent.
The focus now shifts to Melbourne City away from home, who’ll be looking to respond after their disappointing defeat in the Melbourne Derby.
About the Author
