Football, bloody hell.
A famous line in the beautiful game, however not one with positive connotations for the Perth Glory following a crazy yet disappointing 3-2 loss to Sydney FC.
Wet and wild conditions, including a few bolts of lightning, saw the game was called off for an extended period, which was probably for the better for the Glory.
The first half saw the Perth start reasonably well.
There appeared to be more synergy with the players, with key individuals like Oli Bozanic and Adam Taggart getting into their groove early on.
Taggart almost put the Glory ahead after four minutes but he was unfortunate to find his rebound effort hit the post.
It was no doubt a pleasing opening for Alen Stajcic, given how stagnant some of the performances have been of late.
Luke Ivanovic had a great opportunity around 30 minutes in when he blazed a shot over the bar from close range. He was ruled offside, though VAR probably would’ve given the goal to the Glory had he finished.
However, the Sky Blues at that point were slowly starting to find their rhythm and not long after that miss, they were ahead following Joe Lolley’s curled effort from inside the box.
Sydney launched a counterattack deep within their own half as Pat Wood drove with the ball. He then found Lolley who, after a few efforts from he and Wood, found the back of the net from close range.
Slovakian international Róbert Mak doubled Sydney’s lead, as he skipped past five Glory defenders and then bent the ball into the bottom right corner.
It was grim viewing where during the half time coverage, Alen Stajcic was seen blasting his players in the dressing room as that first period ended pretty poorly.
After the lengthy delay, it’s fair to say the Glory were a little energised following a few changes from Stajcic. However, Sydney still had the edge.
Cameron Cook continued to play out of his skin as he made several fine saves.
Sixty-three minutes in and the Glory found the breakthrough they had been searching for, as a perfectly timed run from Adam Taggart saw the striker finish from close range, reducing Sydney’s advantage to just the one goal.
Ufuk Talay’s side had their chances from that point on, but Cook continued to play like he was prime Gianluigi Buffon.
Glory at times pushed and probed for an equaliser, often going route one, but it was the Sky Blues who grabbed the critical goal.
Trent Ostler was dispossessed and from that moment, Sydney launched a counterattack where their Brazilian striker Fábio Gomes found young gun Mitch Glasson and his deflected finish cemented the home side’s lead.
That didn’t stop the Glory as Oli Bozanic set up a grandstand finish following a beautifully curled free kick into the top left corner in the 91st minute.
However, it was unfortunately too little too late for Stajcic’s side and it was yet another defeat away from home.
So what is there to take away from the loss? Well, there are a few things.
For one, the Glory’s midfield continued to part like the Red Sea whenever the ball was given away by the midfielders in the attacking third.
Teams are finding it way too easy to run through the Glory, which then leads to our defenders being quite exposed.
Missing gilt-edged chances was another. Despite both Ivanovic and Stefan Colakovski’s missed efforts being ruled out, either due to an offside or foul on the goalkeeper, they are finishes that have to be put away.
Finally, for me, we’re still probably lacking cohesion across the board.
It just doesn’t seem that at this moment things are coming together, whether it be our attacking or defensive organisation. Clearly, this is an area that has to improve, particularly given who our next opponents are.
Friday’s upcoming clash against Melbourne City at HBF Park will be a really difficult test.
Yes, they’ve been pretty poor by their standards this season, but there’s no doubt they’ll be keen to rectify their form.
The Glory are generally pretty good at home but City will be a tough test.
With hopefully a good week of preparation under their belt and a few players coming back from injury, the Glory could put in a strong 90-minute performance in front of their home fans.
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