Perth Glory secured their fourth successive win of the season to maintain their 100% start with a hard-fought 2-1 win against Adelaide United on Saturday evening.
Going behind for the first time in the season to a 43rd-minute Dylan Holmes goal, the league leaders secured the three points with two second-half goals from Grace Jale in the 50th minute and Susan Phonsongkham in the 86th minute.
This was only the second time Glory had beaten Adelaide in the last 6 games, and despite Adelaide not having won a game so far this season they pushed the league leaders all the way.
Glory is building a Head of Steam
Even though this was only the fourth game of the campaign, the signs are already there that Glory will be one of the hardest teams to beat in the league this season. Their run of four successive winning games (five if you count the last game of the 2022-23 season when they beat Brisbane Roar 1-0) has given them a huge confidence boost, and the desire in the team to get all three points on Saturday was evident in the way they were battling for the win rather than settling for the draw as the game entered its last 10 minutes. The press they employ is difficult to break through, and if teams are successful in getting towards their penalty area they are met with a swarming defence that doesn’t allow for many clear-cut chances.
Defence win Titles
With a lot of attention given to the fact that Phonsongkham and Jale have scored three goals so far, the defence of Perth Glory is being a little overlooked. They have yet to concede a goal from open play this season and this is in no small way due to the performances of Jessika Cowart and Claudia Mihocic at the centre of their defence. They are both physical in their challenges and in Cowart they have a significant aerial presence as well. They are also being well shielded by the impressive Georgia Cassidy in midfield and this structure is allowing the fullbacks to get well forward and create overloads higher up the pitch. Goalkeeper Morgan Aquino is also showing the sort of form that will make it difficult for Sally James to dislodge her as the number one keeper.
Adelaide United Showing Signs of Improvement
Going into this game, the Reds had lost two, drawn one and conceded eight goals so it looked as though this would be a comfortable home win for the league leaders. However, Adrian Stentas’s team made Glory work really hard for the three points and did not look like a team short of confidence and struggling for form. They were compact at the back, physical in midfield and had players up front who kept the Glory defence on its toes. With 55% possession and 409 passes to 331 they did enough to earn a point from the game.
Hana Lowry Needs to Play High
The 1-0 scoreline at halftime led to a tactical reshuffle by Glory coach Alex Epakis for the second half. In the first half, Lowry was deployed in a deep position as a second pivot with Cassidy, but in the second half, Epakis pushed her further forward as they looked to change things to get back in the game. Playing higher allows her to do what does best, which is to drive at opposition defences and act as the playmaker. Whilst not directly involved in either goal, her more attacking role meant the Adelaide defenders were having to deal with a different type of attacking threat as opposed to the direct running and hold-up play of Jale and Millie Farrow.
League Leaders Have Lowest Crowds
With a number of ALW clubs recording record-breaking attendances this season, Glory has so far had crowds of 1114, 1450 and 1230 for their home games, which are the three lowest totals in the league so far. This must be frustrating for the Glory hierarchy especially given there was a record crowd of 2229 when they played Canberra United at Mckellar Park recently. The recent news that the sale of the club to new owners has fallen through at the 11th hour won’t help with the sale of memberships, and it is strange to see the table toppers having the lowest average home attendance in the league.
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