The 2-0 scoreline and the match stats don’t tell the full picture; the Glory ushered in 2023 with a weak performance which I pray is not indicative of things to come.
It was our worst of the season, encapsulating in a 90-minute period why fans have been begging to adequately replace what we lost in the form of Diego Castro.
Ruben Zadkovich has always struck me as a manager who demands to see lots of movement and energy from his players, putting in the hard yards on and off the ball to create space for teammates.
In possession on Monday night, we were lethargic and indecisive. We looked lost and out of ideas. We didn’t appear to have a game plan to attack other than long balls down the line which rarely worked in our favour.
It’s the hope that kills you. We’ve seen some positive performances in the last few matches, and we’ve walked away from them knowing we could have a few extra points. The game against Adelaide was a step back. It wasn’t the be all end all and it won’t define our season, but we could quickly find ourselves falling behind if we’re not careful.
It’s difficult to fathom given how last season panned out and the improvements on the squad we’ve made this year, but after nine games we have less points, less goals scored and more goals conceded than at the same point in our previous campaign, which came after a 2-0 win over Brisbane in February.
Lots of injuries forced our hand at the back end of last season and we had to make a raft of changes, bringing into the squad a lot of young players. I think we’ve gotten to the point in this season where we need to see some more changes in the starting side, especially with the busy January period upon us.
First up, the goalkeeper. Liam Reddy has been a great servant for the club and racked up his 350th A-League appearance on Monday, but it was a milestone game he’ll want to forget.
An error in judgement late in the first half resulted in the Reds breaking the deadlock. A massive header away from Mark Beevers was retrieved by Zach Clough, who sent it straight back into the box.
Reddy got nowhere near the ball as he came out to punch it away, instead collecting Hiroshi Ibusuki with a double fist. With the ball ballooning back into the air, the only man to attack it was Lachlan Barr, getting a powerful header on target which David Williams couldn’t keep out of the net with a last-minute lunge.
Personally, I don’t think Reddy has made too many mistakes or played below par, but I know there is a growing number of people who want Reddy to move on and want to see Cameron Cook in between the posts.
He was very impressive in his first season making starts for the team but hasn’t played since March when he came on as a sub for Reddy in a 2-1 home loss to Adelaide. An error at the near post in that game didn’t do him any favours, but maybe Reddy’s mistake opens the door for him to come back in and challenge for the keeping spot.
The midfield and the wingbacks are the areas where I can see Zadkovich altering his side and making changes the most. Daryll Lachman and Beevers are locks in the defence; Beevers was by far our best player at Coopers Stadium, making quite a few last-minute tackles and timing each one to perfection. Without him, we could have conceded four of five.
I’ve said before Salim Khelifi could be better used further up the pitch, which leaves a spot on the right open for Joseph Forde or Antonee Burke-Gilroy when he comes back from injury. Both offer the attacking threat Khelifi gives and are also better defenders than the Tunisian.
Jack Clisby is another who could potentially make way. Similar to Reddy, I think he’s been pretty good thus far but someone with a bit more attacking threat, ala Matt Hatch, could come in and offer something new on the left-hand side. Forde can also play on the left, where he played well in the final few games of last season.
Clisby also gets most of the blame for the second goal by Ben Halloran. Two balls down the touchline by Ryan Kitto and then Craig Goodwin opened the space for Adelaide in the box. Halloran made his run late to the back post completely unmarked and without pressure to slot the ball past Reddy from Clough’s cross.
The midfield could also use some adjusting and maybe a shift in formation. We saw it against Wellington Phoenix and again on Monday, the midfield two were denied the ball and we had to constantly pass it side to side or long to get the ball moving. Zach Duncan came in for Aaron McEneff and hardly dazzled, while Luke Bodnar has hardly featured and could easily fit in alongside Mustafa Amini or play as a no. 6 if we play with a midfield three. Adjustments need to be made, and now is the time for Zadkovich to start rolling them out.
Adelaide got the job done very comfortably in the end, moving back into the top four with the win. The Spanish duo were brilliant for the Reds, Isaias and Juande both pulling the strings and making life hard every time we tried to play the ball through the middle. Panashe Madanha on starting debut did a good job at right back, causing some headaches going forward and nearly getting an assist from Isaias’ curling strike which hit the bar.
For our manager and his staff, it’s back to the drawing board. A much better showing is needed if we are any chance of getting a result against the visiting Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday night, who are on a hot streak right now. I hope Zadkovich is open to changing shape and players, because we need to create more chances for our attackers.
We had one great opportunity against Adelaide, and it was spurned by Luke Ivanovic. With Adam Taggart not far away, if we can give him multiple chances at goal, he will convert a few of them. This run of home games is huge, and a statement win would be the perfect way to get it going.
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