Of the four teams outside the A-League’s top-two heading into the finals, the most likely to go on a run to the grand final was undoubtedly Perth Glory, and in the first weekend of the finals they again proved why.
Highlighting again just how solid and tough to beat they are, there was little pretty about the Glory’s 3-0 win over the Melbourne Heart.
But if you are looking for effectiveness, right now you wouldn’t find a more ruthless and organised contender.
The Glory game is all about the percentages: keeping things tight at the back and across the midfield, getting the ball forward early, feeding off second balls and pouncing in the front third through the individual quality of Shane Smeltz and, lately, Andrezinho.
Against the Heart on Sunday, the Glory were prepared to do the dirty work for an hour, only for the game to eventually open up thanks to the goal scoring monster that is Smeltz.
Perth’s football mightn’t always be easy on the eye, but it’s downright effective.
Ian Ferguson, much maligned throughout his short managerial career, is to be commended for finding a formula that fits. Patently he is growing more comfortable in the suit.
When the Glory were struggling earlier in the campaign and he was coming under fire from all angles, he made a couple of subtle changes to his shape and starting 11 that have since paid handsome dividends.
Perhaps the most telling was the late signing and introduction to the starting side of the much travelled Steve Pantelidis.
It said much about where Ferguson was at.
With the going tough, he needed another tough man to help steady things.
In throwing Pantelidis into the centre of his defence, alongside the equally robust Bas van den Brink, Ferguson’s intentions were clear.
The Glory weren’t interested in playing out from the back. Neither van den Brink nor Pantelidis are noted for their comfort on the ball.
The idea was to create a physical and combative wall in front of Danny Vukovic, and so it has proved.
With the base set, Ferguson and his assistant, former NSL manager Stuart Munro, also went to work on the centre of midfield.
While Jacob Burns had been in outstanding form for most of the campaign, toning down his normally feisty game and looking a far more rounded player as a result, Ferguson still had a bit of work to do to help Perth control games.
By pushing Liam Miller into a deeper role, alongside Burns, Perth now had a nice blend of ball winner and ball user, not that Burns has been too shabby with his distribution this season.
When Miller or Burns were injured, Ferguson opted for Adam Hughes, with the former Adelaide midfielder having a major influence on Perth’s upturn in form, before departing to China’s Dalian Yiteng FC.
The other subtle but effective change came in the front line, where Ferguson ditched the front two he had used earlier in the season, moving to a 4-2-3-1, with Steve McGarry replacing Billy Mehmet as the nominal second striker.
But in replacing a striker with a central midfielder, Ferguson’s intent was even clearer.
First and foremost the Glory would be tough to break down, congesting the midfield, giving their opponents a contest at every point.
They were intent on suffocating the opposition, forcing an error, and then pouncing efficiently at the other end.
From this base came the flow.
With Burns and Miller prompting from their deeper positions, Ferguson went about adding some impetus from deep.
The introduction of fullbacks Josh Risdon and Dean Heffernan has been a great fillip.
Risdon, to this analyst’s mind, has been among the top two or three right backs in the competition this season, comfortably ahead of the PFA’s selection, Michael Marrone (indeed, how Marrone got in the PFA 11 ahead of Risdon, Ivan Franjic and Pedj Bojic remains a mystery).
Risdon’s defensive discipline, combined with his comfort at carrying the ball and his desire to get forward, has been a real feature for the Glory this season.
Equally, Heffernan has found some good form, perhaps not quite at the athletic level he showed at the Central Coast Mariners, but productive nonetheless.
Ahead of them, in the advanced wide areas, Travis Dodd and Mile Sterjovski set the benchmark, before Andrezinho came back into the picture late, soon after Sterjovski, like Hughes, departed for the Chinese Super League.
The Brazilian, in re-discovering some of the potential he showed in the pre-season and in a swashbuckling first-round performance, has added that special x-factor in the final third in recent weeks, dribbling at defenders, attracting attention, and creating space and chances for Smeltz.
Meanwhile, Dodd and McGarry have also been playing a crucial role. Ferguson appears to have everyone contributing, with the likes of Mehmet, Todd Howarth and Josh Mitchell all putting pressure on the starters.
With confidence flowing and few obvious weaknesses, the Glory will fancy their chances against the Phoenix on the weekend, and possibly beyond.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround from Ferguson, and to my mind he deserves his extended two-year deal.
While bigger challenges await next season and beyond, for now the formula is working just perfectly, and the Glory will take some stopping.
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