The last game of the 2023-24 season ended with a fourth successive loss for Perth Glory when they went down 2-1 to Melbourne City. The result left Glory in 10th spot, finishing above 11th-placed Canberra United only on goal difference.
The loss also extended Glory’s winless streak to 12, which is the second longest in their history, behind the 13-game run from Round 12 in 2019-20 to Round 12 in 2020-21. The four successive losses were a complete reversal of Glory’s opening four games – all of them victories, a win streak which took them to the top of the table.
Numbers such as this usually spark discussions about a coach’s continued role with a club. In his final post-match press conference, Alex Epakis stated he didn’t feel under any pressure regarding his future and that he’d been given assurances from the club to that effect, but Glory cannot possibly be happy with the team’s performance after early-season form suggested they would be a serious finals contender.
Their four opening games yielded maximum points and eight goals, with only three goals conceded. The addition of Grace Jale and Millie Farrow in the off-season, plus Susan Phonsongkham displaying goal-scoring form not seen since joining Glory in 2021, suggested this was a team that possessed a genuine attacking threat. The team also looked to be solid defensively, with Georgia Cassidy catching the eye as a defensive shield in front of a back four that had Morgan Aquino behind them. Aquino would eventually turn out to be the player of the season for Glory with her heroics between the sticks.
Two wins and two draws from Round 5 to Round 10, including victories against Melbourne City and draws against Melbourne Victory and Sydney, gave no sense of the dramatic decline that was about to occur, although there were some signs that things were starting to misfire as they failed to win at home in that period.
In Round 10, Perth played Central Coast Mariners on News Year’s Eve and eked out a 2-1 victory that saw the Mariners have 22 shots to Glory’s four. Two poor defensive moments let Glory score from two of those four shots and they were extremely fortunate to grab the three points, taking them to second place and just three points from then leaders Melbourne City. However, that was to be the last win of the campaign, with the next 12 games yielding just four points and nine goals, three of those being own goals.
As the winless run continued, the confidence in the team ebbed away. They only led once in those 12 games and that was through an own goal in the Round 18 game against Newcastle. They showed some spirit in the Round 16 draw against Canberra United to twice come back from being a goal down, but for the rest of the games they were playing rearguard football, with opposition teams often dominating territory and shots against them.
A look at the season’s stats reveals that the key reason for the slump in form was a lack of cutting edge in the final third, with the goals total of 25 being the second worst in the league. Perth were bottom of the league for shots with 181, which was over 60 shots below the 247 shots of Canberra (second lowest) and 185 behind the 366 of Melbourne City. They also had the lowest number of crosses in the league with only 255, compared to the league-leading total of 468 by Melbourne Victory.
Compounding the lack of goals was the number of shots they faced with a league-high of over 390, compared to the 212 of Sydney which was the lowest in the league. The number of goals conceded from those shots was 32 which was the 6th best in the league, and for that, a large amount of credit must go to Aquino, who had a league-high total of 127 saves.
This was the fourth campaign for Epakis and it’s one he will want to forget. His first season in charge saw them finish bottom and with no wins, but the circumstances of his arrival and his lack of input into the squad at that time meant it wasn’t his side. This time though, he had one of the longest pre-seasons since his arrival and a squad with a large core of players who have been with him for at least three seasons.
There were some bright spots in the campaign though, and the introduction of five WA players to A-League Women was one of them, with Grace Johnston, Georgia Cassidy, Tia Stonehill, Clara Hoarau and Tanika Lala all making their debuts this season. The contribution of Farrow was also significant, whilst the form of Aquino was undoubtedly the major highlight.
There will need to be some serious changes in the off-season, both on and off the field, if Glory are to reverse their form of the 2023-24 campaign. The lack of finals football for over five years offers little incentive for interstate players to move west, so the development of local talent must be a high priority and with new owners now in place, the opportunities for a fresh start have never been better. Central Coast Mariners has shown what is possible with a dedicated academy program.
It was clear from this season that the club is currently nowhere near the level of finals football, and to get there some tough decisions will need to be taken, otherwise there is little prospect of any change in the situation.
