It’s not for a lack of trying. Playing with 10 men for 50 minutes, the Glory remained in the contest and stuck it out to the final whistle.
All the hard work wasn’t enough, as the Victory walked away with all the points thanks to Ben Folami’s 96th minute winner.
In 8 of the Glory’s 11 matches this season, a goal has been scored beyond the 90th minute. Four goals for Perth and four for the opposition.
It says everything about this team currently; effort has never been the problem, it’s the execution in critical moments.
Alen Stajcic was forced into a raft of changes last weekend, bringing in Darryl Lachman and Riley Warland for the suspended Mark Beevers and Aleksandar Susnjar.
There was almost an entirely new midfield to boot; Mustafa Amini started alongside Gio Colli, and out wide Daniel Bennie and Bruce Kamau came in for Luke Ivanovic and Salim Khelifi.
First point of note was the improvement in the centre. The pairing of Amini and Colli were a lot more balanced and complimented each other more than Colli and Oli Bozanic did when they played together.
Amini’s defensive work aided in thwarting the Victory’s threat through the middle of the park. He had four defensive actions (tackles, blocks, interceptions), made seven recoveries and won 6/9 duels.
By comparison, against the Mariners on NYE, Bozanic recorded no defensive actions, made two recoveries and won 1/6 duels in 57 minutes.
That being said, the team had more defending to do against the Victory after the second half started in the worst possible fashion.
Less than 15 seconds in, Kamau was adjusted to have dived in the penalty area, receiving his second yellow card for simulation after a tactical foul in the first half warranted his first.
In my opinion it was a harsh call given Kamau didn’t appeal at all for a penalty and the fact he got up right away to chase the ball.
Consistency is the one thing all fans want from the referees. Yes, there was no contact on Kamau and he probably did anticipate it, but there’s been worse displays of staging that have gone unpunished and that’s why I think he was slightly hard done by.
Alen Stajcic’s half-time team talk immediately went out the window after a competitive outing in the first 45.
Victory opened the contest on the front foot but only had themselves to blame when they fell behind after 20 minutes.
A loose back pass was pounced upon by Adam Taggart, who set himself for a volley and blasted the strike past Izzo for his seventh of the season.
The 30-year-old currently sits equal second in the golden boot race with Jamie Maclaren and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos. It’s been one of his best starts to a season, the clear shining light in what’s been a difficult season.
Tony Popovic’s side found the leveller just before half time, the result of a charging run inside from Daniel Arzani and a strong finish across the keeper from Zinedine Machach.
The Victory had the stranglehold on possession after the break and could only muster a few decent looks at goal until they found the lead.
Youngster Eli Adams was given free reign to come inside and have a crack on his left foot. The finish was a belter into the top corner, an impossible shot for Cameron Cook to get a glove on let alone save.
An injury to Daryll Lachman added to the injury woes, but it gave Kaelan Majekodunmi half an hour of playing time in his debut.
A debut to remember, scoring from a corner in the 89th minute. Amini’s ball in was headed high by Jacob Muir. Majekodunmi controlled the ball, snuck it past Connor Chapman and slotted the finish away like a centre forward.
Seven minutes of added time ensued and only six was needed for Folami to jink onto his left foot and curl home the winner in front of the travelling Victory support.
Harding brace in Wanderers upset
2024 got off to a bad start for the women’s team, losing at home for the first time since last January after an uncharacteristically poor performance against Western Sydney.
The Glory frontline were denied any openings by the Wanderers back three, only managing one shot on target compared to their 13.
The 2-0 win never looked in doubt for the travelling side, who took the lead through Sophie Harding’s looping shot over Morgan Aquino in the 24th minute.
The game was iced when Harding outpaced Jess Cowart in the box to complete her brace and set the record for most goals in an A-League women’s season by a Wanderer.
Another strong performance from Aquino kept the scoring to a minimum, making eleven saves and distributing well to the back four.
The Wrap Up
The New Year did not get off to the best start for both teams, who will be out to avenge their losses in Sydney this weekend for Unite Round.
They will simultaneously start and end the weekend. The women’s side kick off the action against the Victory at Leichhardt Oval.
The final match of the round sees the men’s team up against the Phoenix at CommBank Stadium.
Wellington remain in second but have come up short in their last two, losing to Sydney and held to a draw by Adelaide.
The news off the pitch doesn’t get any better, with no owners in sight this month and no transfers coming in.
Aaron McEneff looks set to be departing, Joseph Forde already has and Beevers could be out for over a month after an incident at training.
The performance last week showed the team is good enough to compete with the best. Keeping up the effort and executing better will give us a chance of getting that elusive win outside of the state in what will be the first of a three-game spell in NSW.
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