A five-minute blitz from the Glory midway through the second half, saw Ruben Zadkovich’s side come from behind to secure an important 2-1 win at home for the final time at Macedonia Park last night.
Glory started the game reasonably well, as Macarthur set up shop just in front of their own goal as the home side looked to prod away, looking for opportunities in behind the Macarthur backline.
It was a different shape for Zadkovich’s side, as they changed from their back four system to a back three, as Jacob Muir came into the side for Johnny Koutroumbis.
Aaron McEneff was forced off with a potential quad strain injury midway through the first half, which is unfortunate for the Irish midfielder, who only recently returned to the squad following an extensive foot injury.
Keegan Jelacic thought he put the Glory ahead around the 30th-minute mark, but it was ruled out due to the young attacking midfielder drifting quite clearly into an offside position.
Boom recruit Adam Taggart had a few chances from close range that on another day he would’ve put away.
But surprisingly, it was the away side who took the lead just before half-time, as Lachie Rose made a darting run inside and arrowed his strike into the bottom right corner.
It certainly was a surprise for the 3896 crowd at Macedonia Park, as Macarthur had barely made a promising attack up until that point.
The Glory started the second half reasonably well and then really turned the heat up around the 60th minute when Ruben Zadkovich brought on both Jacob Dowse and Luke Ivanovic.
Those two substitutions saw Glory transition to a back four, and ultimately play at a greater tempo. This saw Macarthur struggle to deal with the Glory’s frenetic attacks, as Dowse and Ryan Williams in particular were causing the defenders many problems.
Just before the 70th minute, Ryan Williams hung his cross up to the back post to which Adam Taggart powered home his header from very close range.
From there, the momentum was with the Glory as they piled the pressure on the Bulls.
A few minutes later, Mark Beevers smashed his header into the back of the net following a terrific delivery from Jacob Dowse.
Glory were able to hold on to all three points, despite a late surge from Macarthur.
Ultimately, this was a deserved win for the home side as Mile Sterjovski’s side lacked a fair amount of bite and drive going forward.
When looking at the stats following the game, it was clear to see the Glory’s control and dominance in several areas.
Perth had no trouble keeping possession (61%), won 55.8% of all duels, had more final third entries (62) and penalty area entries (40), and finally, Glory had the much greater xG, 2.40 to 0.56.
I think there are a few key points to take away from this win.
One is, Macedonia Park has been a very happy hunting ground for the Glory, as we’ve only lost one game there, albeit to the best side in the competition.
Second, we’re improving our processes going forward but we need to be a lot more clinical in front of goal.
Adam Taggart and Ryan Williams both missed some guilt edge chances in the first half, as Glory probably should’ve gone into the break 3-1 up.
I think Glory should look to persist with the back four. However we shape the midfield and attack, which can interchange, but ultimately, once we changed to the back four, we controlled the game much better, created higher value chances and we played a more daring brand of football.
Some standout players from last night’s game include Trent Ostler, Mark Beevers and Ryan Williams.
Ostler was very impressive going forward, as his deliveries from wide areas as well as his ability to take on defenders and get past them was really good.
Beevers was a stalwart in the backline. Making important challenges, winning his contests and grabbing the winner, he was the man of the match in my eyes.
As for Ryan Williams, he never stopped working hard. His speed and athleticism is scary, and to think how much he can improve, Glory have got a great winger on their hands for the next few years.
All eyes now turn to Glory making the trip to Melbourne next Sunday, as we’ll be taking on Tony Popovic’s Melbourne Victory.
With one point separating Perth in seventh and Sydney FC in sixth, the clash against the Victory is a must-win.
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