I had a feeling our second game against Brisbane Roar would turn out better than the first, and I’m glad that proved to be the case on Sunday afternoon.
If the Glory are serious about contending for finals this season, games like the one against the Roar need to be wins. The performance wasn’t the best, but we came away with a much needed three points.
After our loss to Western Sydney less than three weeks ago, I said it was getting harder to remain optimistic about our season. Now, I’m feeling as confident as ever about what Richard Garcia is building with this side.
The defensive display was superb for most of the game once again. Darryl Lachman really stood out for me with his commanding performance. Aaron Calver had to be subbed early, with Josh Rawlins deputising as a centre half for 75 minutes.
Rawlins didn’t look out of place in the centre of defence at A-League level, but it meant Lachman had to take on some added responsibility and marshal the defence. He did so incredibly well to continue his fine form this season.
The decision to play Liam Reddy ahead of Cameron Cook caught me off guard. I think Cook had done enough to justify his starting position, but it was good to see Reddy back in action after recovering from shoulder surgery.
He didn’t have a mountain of work to do, but when called upon he did what was necessary. The pick of the bunch a good near post save from Nicholas Olsen just past the half hour mark. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t start against Macarthur.
My main gripe for the match was the lack of chances we were able to create. Scoring the early goal allowed us to play safe football and control the game, but the penalty was our only shot on goal in the first half. In my eyes, that’s not good enough against the side currently at the bottom of the ladder.
On the other hand, I was really pleased with our counter press.We were able to control possession in the opening half hour because our pressure caused Brisbane to make mistakes.
Even better, we were able to keep applying that pressure in the second half. Brisbane’s turnovers resulted in Brandon O’Neill narrowly shooting wide and it led to the second goal in the 73rd minute.
Bruno Fornaroli was absolutely sensational when we needed him to be. Pacifique Niyongabire did well to react quickly to a loose ball in the box, drew the foul and then Fornaroli put away the penalty with conviction down the middle.
With the second goal, the turn and the shot were class. Giordano Colli and Andy Keogh played a nice little 1-2, Colli was able to squeeze a pass past multiple Brisbane defenders with his weaker foot to Fornaroli who did what he does best.
Bruno does it again!
Glory 2-0 Roar@aleaguemen #PERvBRI #OneGlory pic.twitter.com/heOiLfdzVz— Perth Glory FC (@PerthGloryFC) February 20, 2022
Every game Giordano Colli plays I am more impressed with his performances. He’s growing in confidence on the ball andgetting more involved in our build up play. An assist coming off the bench might give Richard Garcia some selection headaches.
A quick word on the return of our marquee man. Daniel Sturridge got 20 minutes of the bench, blazing a volley well off target but he was able to get on the ball more often, holding up the play and distributing passes well. It was also his defensive pressure which led to the second goal.
It was a tough result for the Roar, who left the game feeling they could have gotten a point out of it. Substitute Luke Ivanovic looked good the moment he was introduced into the game, adding a spark to the Brisbane attack. A good acquisition who I’m looking forward to seeing more of this season, especially if he pairs up with Nikola Mileusnic.
Winning games when we don’t play our best is a good sign we’re heading in the right direction. Although we didn’t create a lot of chances, Bruno Fornaroli was able to put both of his into the back of the net and it proved enough.
I’ll keep saying it, we need to create more. Wednesday is a good test against a Macarthur side with a quality attack and a pretty good defence. I’m excited to see how we’ll cope with it.
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