What a rollercoaster we’ve been on the last few weeks. It’s hard to believe only a week and half has passed since I was at Northbridge Piazza watching the Socceroos in the last 16 of the World Cup.
The success of the national team was supposed to transition to the A-League. New eyes on the competition, more respect for the quality of the league and possibly the dawn of a new era in the inaugural season for the APL.
Instead, it’s been a mess in the last few days, with all the positivity garnered by the Socceroos diminished by the announcement the Grand Final will be played in Sydney for the next three years.
Supporters have been up in arms but as of the time of writing, the decision stands after the APL Club Chairs met due to the fan backlash.
I understand the financial gain is the main driver behind the decision. However, moving the grand final and taking away home ground advantage from the team who will earn it is not the right way to go about it.
The APL has tried to justify the move by detailing their plan for a festival of football in the build up to the grand final, but there’s no point. For any positive, there’s a worse negative. No matter how they spin it, the fans are worse off, and it should never be that way.
The last point I’ll make is this: the 2019 Grand Final at Optus Stadium was one of the best sporting experiences I’ve ever had, despite the result not going the way I’d have liked. All of Perth got behind the Glory in a way I’d never seen before. Those sorts of scenes define the A-League, and to lose them would be a major travesty.
Attention should always be on the field, and fortunately there was good news at Macedonia Park on Saturday night. First home game in over 200 days and the perfect restart to the season after the World Cup break.
The atmosphere on the weekend was fantastic. The vibe is very different from HBF Park, with fans a lot closer to the pitch giving it an English lower league feel, which I think suits the Glory and the Shed End perfectly.
Ruben Zadkovich and his team have been hard at work prepping the squad over the last month, and definite progress has been made. Our intensity early in the contest was brilliant, hassling the Western United defenders and winning possession back in our attacking half.
The decision to play Salim Khelifi and Ryan Williams on the same side turned out brilliantly, as both applied the blowtorch to makeshift left back Josh Risdon. Most of our play came down the right, with Khelifi playing as a wingback and Williams as the winger.
A constant threat throughout the match, Williams had our best chances for the match and scored with his most difficult one. He chased down a long ball from Jacob Muir. Getting there in the nick of time, his “cross” from the byline looped over the top of Jamie Young to give us an early lead.
Our left-hand side may not have gotten as much action, but Jack Clisby and Keegan Jelacic both deserve a lot of praise for their performances. Jelacic in particular was superb, displaying a high level of poise and calmness on the ball for such a young player.
Under pressure, he was able to move around with elegance and not lose the ball, often making good decisions with the pass. He worked hard off the ball too, a great aspect of his game which won’t go unnoticed by the coach.
It’s what led to the second goal early in the second half. He won the ball back in the box, got away from a few defenders and found an open man to his left on the edge of the area. Clisby met it on his opposite foot and curled it beautifully into the far side of the net.
Jelacic nearly set up a third thanks to an incredible cross field pass on his opposite foot. The pass was weighted perfectly into the path of Ryan Williams, who managed to get one on one with Young but couldn’t get his chip to dip under the crossbar.
Despite not having much of the ball, we were definitely good value for our lead. Western United didn’t create many chances or tested Liam Reddy in the first half, going closest through a Lachlan Wales header.
The second half was a bit more of a struggle, especially in the last few minutes when we were holding onto the lead for dear life. Neil Kilkenny grabbed a goal back from a free kick, his cross sailing over everyone and past Liam Reddy who had no time to react.
Prijovic nearly got his head on a free kick from Milanovic in extra time and then in the final minute, Noah Botic hit the post from a close-range header. We rode our luck in the end, but I thought we were good value for the win.
John Aloisi has his work cut out for him; this Western United side has found it tough to repeat their success from last season. Leo Lacroix had a night to forget, getting sent off for an errant elbow in the final play of the game. On the other side, James Troisi was involved in most of United’s good play when he was on the park and definitely could have made an impact had he stayed on for the final part of the game.
Making the most of home advantage will be the difference between finishing towards the bottom of the ladder again or potentially making a push for the top six. A good win to start our home run is what we needed, but the challenges don’t get easier. An away trip to Campbelltown to face Macarthur is next on the cards. The Bulls haven’t lived up to expectations thus far with two wins from seven. If we can improve on the weekend’s showing, we’re a good chance of keeping our momentum going.
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