This game had a very strong sense of deja vu at full-time.
It’s been a running theme, the last few occasions these two sides have clashed, going back to last season.
With the final score being 2-2, it doesn’t do much for the Glory in terms of lifting them off the foot of the ladder.
The first half was grim viewing.
There was a feeling among many fans, particularly on social media, that the Glory looked quite lethargic and leggy.
Alen Stajcic’s side struggled to maintain possession for long periods, compete against Newcastle’s style of play, and take the fight to them.
The Jets found the breakthrough, just under 30 minutes in.
Simple mistakes are costing the Glory, as Mark Beevers failed to get any meaningful distance on his clearance, Reno Piscopo and Tom Aquilina combined well down the right wing, and Aquilina was able to get to the ball before Beevers, who was adjudged to have tripped the winger.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos scored the penalty with real conviction, a man in red-hot form at the moment.
The Glory had been warned, as Reno Piscopo was close with an effort just outside the box, 10 or so minutes before the Jets went ahead.
Johnny Koutroumbia did make a very impressive yet unorthodox goal-line clearance, which was in fairness a highlight from that first half.
However, the team ended that half with a whimper, with not one shot on target.
Then the second half came, and it was a completely different mindset from the players.
Mustafa Amini was brought on for Oli Bozanic at half-time and not long after, Adam Taggart equalised for the Glory.
Luke Ivanovic, who has come under criticism from fans for his performances thus far, made a strong run down the right wing and cut the ball back to Adam Taggart who rocketed his shot into the roof of the net.
From there, the Glory started to control proceedings, as the roles had essentially flipped from the first half.
Just under 10 minutes later and the Jets were the architects of their own downfall, as a sloppy pass from Clayton Taylor was read well by Stefan Colakovski, who like Taggart, launched a rocket into the roof of the net to give the Glory an unlikely lead away from home.
As the game wore on, it’s fair to say that Glory fans were slowly growing in confidence that this would be the game where the team would finally break their 14-game winless run away from home.
Newcastle were throwing everything the Glory’s way, but the players were hanging on, just.
That was until the seventh minute of added time when a chipped ball from Phillip Cancar found Lucas Maraugis, who squared the ball across goal to Trent Buhagiar to steal a draw for the Jets at the death.
It was a cruel end to the game for the Glory, but ultimately it was another missed opportunity and a game where realistically, the players have to take responsibility for their performances.
Sure, things are very difficult at this moment – no owners, bottom of the table, and a mental hoodoo every time we go away from home. It’s tough and a lot of fans understand.
But with the goals we concede, particularly over the last few weeks, they’re mostly individual mistakes and it kills the team.
Former Glory fan favourite, defender Dino Djulbic, frequently speaks with Far Post Perth member Blayne Treadgold on 91.3 Sport FM, and this has been the area he has spoken about the most the last few weeks, over where the Glory have gone wrong.
Beevers for the first goal was just indiscipline and something you don’t expect from a player with over 500 games of experience in the UK.
Johnny Koutroumbis for the second was caught too square and on his heels, as Lucas Maraugis peeled off on his blindside, stayed onside, and was able to have that distance and speed advantage over the fullback, who couldn’t recover in time.
The Jets were targeting Koutroumbis and his positioning for most of the game, as that long ball over the top caught him out on quite a few occasions.
This game was ultimately one where the Glory were fortunate to not lose, given the control Newcastle had for large periods.
But in saying that, this was also a game where the Glory, if they could put out a consistent 90-minute performance, probably could’ve been coming home with the three points. Small details are costing them at the moment.
Glory defender Aleksandar Šušnjar shared his thoughts about the game at full-time.
“It’s unbelievable… (97th) minute again, it’s very disappointing,” he said.
“There was a lot said in the changerooms (at half-time). We had to pull our socks up, come out here and give 100%.
“Look at us, we’re at the bottom of the table. We’ve got to pour our hearts out for the whole 90. That’s what we did in the second half, but to concede like that, it’s very disappointing.
“The only way is up. I think we do have a good team. Everyone’s behind us, I believe we can turn it around and start heading up.”
If the Glory are to turn it around, they’ll need to do so and fast. Macarthur at home are up next and they’re (at the time of writing) undefeated in the league.
By no means will it be an easy task, but the Glory have got to start putting in these convincing performances and getting results, otherwise finals will be near impossible to achieve.
About the Author
