The story was there to be written: the man exiled by his former coach coming back to haunt him on his return to his old stomping grounds.
Stef Colakovski’s winner in the 78th minute finished that story, but it was just the beginning of another one, the Pelligra Group era in Perth.
The substitutes made the difference on the night; the Glory’s attacking changes bringing about the two goals to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory against Brisbane last Saturday.
The Glory had taken the lead early through Adam Taggart, the result of a Riley Warland free kick and Aleksandar Susnjar’s header across the box for the striker to nod home.
It came against the run of play, as the Roar spent large periods of the early stages comfortably possessing the ball without breaking down the Glory defence.
Eventually it did, as Nikola Mileusnic smashed home the equaliser just five minutes after Taggart’s opener.
After narrowly heading over from a corner, he controlled a cross from former Glory full back Antonee Burke-Gilroy.
Shielding his body well, his touch took him away from goal but on the turn he unleashed an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net.
The Roar’s momentum continued on and led to their go-ahead goal in the 36th minute courtesy of youngster Thomas Waddingham.
Jay O’Shea and Henry Hore combined neatly, with the latter receiving the ball in the box and flicking it to the 18-year-old.
His first attempt was saved by Sail and although the keeper also got hands to the follow up, it wasn’t enough to keep the ball from crossing the line.
For the rest of the half Glory took charge of the ball and aside from a deflected Taggart strike which was saved well by Macklin Freke, didn’t look like troubling the scoresheet again.
After the break Ruben Zadkovich’s side were content with the score as it was, switching to a back five with the introduction of Corey Brown and the subbing out of Waddingham and Hore.
Alen Stajcic had the opposite mindset, introducing Trent Ostler in place of Jacob Muir whilst also adding the fresh legs of Colakovski and Joel Anasmo to the fray.
Right away Colakovski was in the mix, involved in a penalty box scramble which resulted in Daniel Bennie coming close to finding his first goal if not for Freke’s freakish reflex save.
When the Glory needed a spark after a dull period of the game, it was Anasmo who provided it to even the scores with less than 20 minutes remaining.
A driving run into the box past three Brisbane defenders into the box ended with his shot blocked, but fortunately it fell to the feet of Taggart. His strike on the bounce lacked power but had perfect placement into the corner to make it 12 for the season.
The counter pressing from the forwards was incredible towards the end of the game and resulted in Colakovski’s winner.
Taggart’s pressure on James Nikolovski forced an error, a misplaced pass which Bennie was first to reach. His touch fell Colakovski’s way and he made sure to finish the job, scoring in front of a packed Shed End to restore the Glory’s lead.
Brisbane didn’t have the answers late on, unable to find a late goal which has been the Glory’s kryptonite.
The defence was immense in the second half, only giving up three shots in total and 0.09 xG. It all started from the front, illustrated by the winning goal and a separate piece of play right before added time, winning possession high up the pitch four times in the space of 90 seconds.
The men’s team have now gone five games unbeaten, and with three of the next four at HBF Park there’s a lot of promise heading into the final months.
The ALW slide continues
The complete reversal of form for the two Glory sides has been staggering. Even with the new era beginning and Ross Pelligra in attendance, the Glory women slumped to another defeat.
While Morgan Aquino’s appearance in goals was a welcome surprise after her injury against Canberra, there wasn’t much joy elsewhere as the Central Coast walked away from Balcatta with a 3-1 win.
The Glory’s only shot on goal for the first half found the back of the net, as Millie Farrow broke her goal drought, scoring for the first time since the reverse fixture in Gosford on New Year’s Eve and netting her first goal at Macedonia Park.
The Mariners were unlucky to not be in front or have gotten an equaliser as stoppage time commenced but their hard work was rewarded when Kyah Simon nodded home a set piece unmarked.
A long range strike from Bianca Galic put the Mariners ahead late on, more reward for their effort as they created more opportunities and were the better side.
Annalise Rasmussen put the icing on the cake with a low finish which Aquino couldn’t stop, keeping the Glory winless in 2024.
On top of the loss was the injury to Grace Johnston, who will miss the rest of the season with a syndesmosis injury.
The Wrap Up
The first big initiative of the Pelligra era is in effect, with 3000 tickets for those aged 16 and under available for free for Saturday’s clash with top of the table Wellington Phoenix.
Our rivals from New Zealand are on a hot streak, five points clear and yet to taste defeat this calendar year.
They’re off the back of two wins on the bounce, a 2-0 win over Western United and a 2-1 victory last weekend in Campbelltown against Macarthur.
The women’s side have another chance to reverse their form and get back into the finals spots when they face Newcastle on Sunday.
With few rounds remaining and only a four point gap between 3rd and 8th, it’s do or die time for Alex Epakis and his side, who now have a negative goal difference and the same amount of wins as losses.
The challenge is steep for the men and the women, as they both find themselves outside the finals spot but with a chanceof sneaking in, if the men can keep up their form and the women can regain theirs from the start of the season.
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