An electric atmosphere, an entertaining game, just not the result we were hoping for.
Still, it was great to get the new Isuzu Ute A-League Men’s season off and running in front of a full house at HBF Park.
From a Glory perspective, there is a lot to be excited about ahead of our eight-game road trip, but there were also a few peculiar things which caught my eye.
First off, the formation. Richard Garcia chose to play with a back three against Adelaide, electing not to use the 4-2-2-2 predominantly used last season.
Joining Daryll Lachman and Jonathan Aspropotamitis as centre-backs was Kosuke Ota, with new signings Jack Clisby and Antonee Burke-Gilroy deployed as wingbacks in a 3-4-3.
Ota as a central defender is an odd one for me. He lacks the physicality of our other centre backs, as seen when Ben Halloran got the best of him before teeing up Kusini Yengi for Adelaide’s opening goal.
We also lose his ability going forward. His delivery into the box is good; it doesn’t make sense to me why we don’t utilise that when it is tailor made for someone in the wingback position.
As for the right wingback, I was very impressed with Burke-Gilroy. He was positive going forward, forcing James Delianov into a good save in the first half and scoring in the second before being ruled out for offside. He appears to be a good fit for that position.
Our other signings started off solidly. Brad Jones made a great save to deny Craig Goodwin on the hour mark, but otherwise wasn’t too troubled.
Brandon O’Neill covered the middle of the park well with Luke Bodnar, who I hope to see more of this season. Got the assist for Bruno Fornaroli and should provide good competition for Callum Timmins as to who gets the second spot in the two-man midfield.
I liked what I saw from Pacifique Niyongabire. He has the pace to beat defenders and get in behind, something we need to possess if we want to play the free-flowing attacking football which Garcia desires.
He has to make the most of his opportunities though. Once Daniel Sturridge and Adrian Sardinero are match-fit, he is probably the one who drops to the bench.
Sardinero linked up well with Fornaroli when he came off the bench, and given he’s only been training with the team for two weeks, I can’t wait to see what he can do when he’s match-fit.
Sturridge’s short cameo didn’t deliver the winning goal like we all dreamed of, but at least we got to see a glimpse of him on the pitch before the beginning of next year.
Completing the trio of attacking subs was Daniel Stynes, our best player off the bench in my eyes. He pushed forward when he was on the ball and looks more confident than I’ve ever seen him. He didn’t shy away from the physicality either, shrugging off Isaias when he tried to prevent a Glory attack late in the game.
A quick word on Adelaide, Yengi looks the real deal. Every time he got the ball, I was a little nervous. Physically imposing, good with the ball at his feet and quick, he is a player I expect to score a decent amount of goals this season.
A draw was probably a fair result given the evenness of the game. Adelaide had a lot more of the ball, but the chances created were pretty close between the two teams. A good hit out first up, hopefully we can build on a decent start and get a few wins on the board in Victoria to get our season rolling.
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