Returning home to Perth was supposed to coincide with a purple patch of form to reignite our season and our push for the top six.
Looking at the table now makes for grim reading. We’re not last because we’ve played less games than everyone else, we’re there on merit.
Playing in front of home crowds was supposed to lift the team to new heights; all it’s done is lift fans out of seats.
Attendance last time round against Adelaide was 6657. Against Sydney, it was 4708. God knows what it will drop to for the Tuesday night fixture against the Mariners.
It’s not hard to see why casual fans are tuning out. The free-flowing attacking football Richard Garcia promised when he was announced as manager is lightyears away from the reality we’ve seen on the pitch.
The ball movement forward remains so stagnant and slow. It is frustrating because it’s clear our best moments in attack come when we play the ball quickly and positively.
It was no different this game. The best chance in the first half came when Andy Keogh played a good forward ball into the path of Bruno Fornaroli. He could run at the defender in a 1v1 situation and he got a powerful shot away, fortunately for Andrew Redmayne it was down the middle and he could parry it behind.
Pacifique Niyongabire was a livewire on the right and causedsome trouble for Callum Talbot, but we chose to play down the left more often and it didn’t work.
On multiple occasions Jack Clisby played an aerial ball down the left touchline for Keogh to run onto, to no avail.
Why Keogh is playing out wide or as a no. 10 continues to baffle me. I like him a lot, but his passing isn’t up to scratch for an attacking midfielder. He won’t dribble past defenders like Niyongabire does. I can’t be the only one confused as to why he isn’t in the box more, surely.
Then there’s Adrian Sardinero. He’s only played a few games since returning from injury, and I don’t like to be hypercritical of players, but what exactly has he offered us going forward this season?
In just over an hour on the pitch, all I noticed was a tame shot on goal in the first half from a relatively tight angle and the goalmouth scramble in the second, where he nearly pounced after Redmayne spilled a cross from Niyongabire.
Mind you, the defence hasn’t been much better over the last few games. At least earlier in the season we were able to hang in deep and give ourselves a chance to get back into the game like we did against the Mariners.
After starting the season on a 10-game run without conceding multiple goals in a match, we’ve done it in the last four. The two goals Sydney scored on Saturday won’t be attributed to individual errors.
Kenny Lowe called it on commentary right before it happened: Sydney came in with a plan to sit back in a low block and hit us on the counter. Callum Talbot intercepted the ball in midfield, leaving Antonee Burke-Gilroy for dead. He was given way too much time and space to pick out Kosta Barbarouses in the middle for a tap in.
Another turnover in midfield created the breakaway for the second goal. Trent Buhagiar received the ball out wide, played it into the middle and Patrick Yazbek got there before Burke-Gilroy for a simple finish beyond the returning Brad Jones.
We struggled to defend when Sydney were on the break. They had many great chances in the first half to extend their lead and put the game beyond doubt before the interval.
Josh Rawlins started at centre back with Darryl Lachman and got caught out of position on multiple occasions. With Jonathan Aspro and Darko Stanojevic both on the bench, I wonder why Richard Garcia opted against starting one of his recognised central defenders.
The midfield woes got even worse, with Brandon O’Neill subbed off with a shoulder injury and looking likely to miss the rest of the season. It leaves a massive hole in the defensive midfield spot, as O’Neill joins Luke Bodnar on the injury list.
The Glory also confirmed Aaron Calver has departed the club with immediate effect, pursuing an opportunity overseas. The club has received a fee for him, let’s hope its put to good use.
Sydney walked away with another win at HBF Park, continuing their amazing record in Perth. Callum Talbot was hugely influential at left back, Patrick Yazbek got his first A-League goal in a solid return and Luciano Narsingh looked the goods in his first start for the Sky Blues. Him, Ninkovic, Bobo and Le Fondre on paper is a fearsome frontline.
The Glory have to lick their wounds and suit up for another important home clash. The Mariners form has been poor leading into this one. Last time I said home results had to be good until the rest of the season. I’ll up it further now: if we can’t get a win against the Central Coast, I’m about ready to write off any last hopes we have of making a finals push, despite the closeness of the competition this season.
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