There never seems to be a dull moment at Macedonia Park this season.
Fortunately for the Perth Glory, they were able to get the job done against the so-called ‘Glory B Team’ in front of a packed-out Macedonia Park, with all available tickets selling out prior to the game.
The first half was a slightly even contest. Victory attempted to control the tempo while Glory looked to sit off and pounce whenever there was a loose pass.
Tony Popovic’s side had some great opportunities with Noah Smith’s rocket only just going over the bar and Jake Brimmer’s strike from outside the box hitting the post.
Despite those chances, it was the Glory who looked more threatening when going forward.
Keegan Jelacic missed a golden opportunity from inside the box to put the hosts ahead, but 15 minutes later, his blushes were spared.
Some rather sloppy defending from the Victory saw David Williams get in behind the Victory backline, who squared the ball across the goal and while Ryan Williams scuffed his shot, it was enough in the end, as it went into the bottom left corner putting the Glory 1-0 up.
Just over five minutes into the second half and there were two red cards. Talk about drama at Macedonia Park, which seems to be a weekly occurrence.
Jack Clisby tackled former Glory man Chris Ikonomidis, and as both went down, it appeared that Ikonomidis kicked out at Clisby which then caused the left-back to shove the winger quite aggressively into the ground.
After some handbags from both sides, the referee sent Clisby off and then after a VAR review, dismissed Ikonomidis as well.
A rather silly incident that would leave neither Ruben Zadkovich nor Tony Popovic impressed.
Just over 15 minutes later and the Victory were level as a wonderful bicycle kick from Roderick Miranda deflected off Josh Brillante, which left Cameron Cook stranded in goal.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man, Glory’s boom recruit Adam Taggart turned the game back into the Glory’s favour.
Jacob Dowse whipped in a fantastic cross and Taggart beautifully headed the ball into the back of the net, leaving Matt Acton no chance.
It’s the kind of phase of play from an attacking perspective that the Glory struggled to pull off for a number of games, and with Taggart back in the side, hopefully, we will see much more goals scored.
The fun didn’t end there for the 29-year-old striker, as Matt Acton put on a bit of a tekkers show, only to be caught out by Dowse, who then whipped in another excellent cross which Taggart, being the poacher he is, got on the end of to make it 3-1 to the Glory.
Now, in terms of my thoughts on the game, for the most part, I was satisfied with the performance.
I think what was really pleasing to see was that the Glory took their chances. We were a lot more clinical than Victory, as despite the away side having more shots (15), 75% of our shots were on target compared to their 20%.
Adam Taggart was probably the Man of the Match in my eyes as he changed the game the moment he came on. His predatory instinct in the box is going to be absolutely crucial for the Glory for the next few seasons.
I thought Salim Khelifi was outstanding. His trickery, speed and willingness to take on a player was superb and he’s now becoming a fan favourite, which is great to see.
Jacob Dowse, for me, deserves to start in the game against Wellington, as with Jack Clisby suspended, Dowse would be a natural replacement and with his three assists from the last two games, he will be a super asset to have, especially going forward.
In the previous review I did, I did note that I was slightly negative and critical of the Glory as I felt we could do more, and that our potential and our ceiling was greater than being a team that hangs out in the bottom four.
By no means will I be getting ahead of myself because there are still things we can work on.
Though in saying that, we’re slowly getting there. Brick by brick is the analogy I’ll use to describe this process. There are elements of our game that we are doing really well.
For instance, our speed when in transition, our deliveries into the box and our improved structure in defence, they’ve improved over the last few weeks.
But, the important thing, that has to start from the Wellington game, is that we need to start being a consistent outfit.
Our Macedonia Park record is outstanding, there’s no question about it, as we have the second-best home form right now in the competition.
However, our away form is pitiful, as unfortunately, it is the worst. This is a great challenge for these Glory players, as we are excellent at home but we’ve got to improve on our travels.
If we can get that latter part sorted over the next few games, there is a strong argument for the Perth Glory to return to finals football.
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