Perth Glory’s 2-1 defeat to Adelaide United wasn’t the HBF Park homecoming the Western Australians had hoped for, but it was a timely reminder the A-Leagues are supposed to be transnational.
After 106 days away, Glory finally put their interminable road trip behind them when they ran out at HBF Park for just the second time this season.
It wasn’t quite the carnival atmosphere of their sold-out season opener, with Western Australia’s ever-changing border restrictions and the high cost of tickets at HBF Park ensuring plenty of spare seats remained under the bright autumn sunshine.
And the home side didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory, if you’ll pardon the pun, turning in an average performance against an Adelaide United side that don’t necessarily look like world-beaters themselves.
When the Reds signed beanpole Japanese striker Hiroshi Ibusuki in January, the usual cadre of online critics were quick to point out that he had scored precisely zero goals in 14 league appearances for Shimizu S-Pulse the previous season.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
But what many of those critics fail to understand is that the J.League is simply a higher standard of football than the A-League Men, meaning the likes of Ibusuki and Glory defender Kosuke Ota were always going to be decent-quality footballers in Australia.
And the Reds certainly play to Ibusuki’s strengths, with new skipper Craig Goodwin floating over a tantalising corner for the big Japanese striker to bulldoze a couple of Glory defenders out of the way and head home at the far post.
Ibusuki has got more to his game than just his physical presence – it was his piledriver that Liam Reddy clawed away that led to the corner in the first place – and Reddy was replaced at half-time by reserve goalkeeper Cameron Cook because of a hip injury.
How different would Glory’s season look if first-choice keeper Brad Jones had been fit throughout? And how much trouble is coach Richard Garcia currently in?
This week’s video review sessions will make for uncomfortable viewing after Cook let Mohamed Toure’s stinging strike from close to the byline squirm underneath him and in at the near post.
Bruno Fornaroli pulled a goal back from the penalty spot – he’s now scored half of Glory’s 12 league goals this season – but it was the Reds who prevailed against their fierce rivals to move up to third on the ladder.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
It was hardly champagne football, but it was at least a reminder that the A-Leagues are supposed to represent more than just a handful of clubs from Sydney and Melbourne.
COVID restrictions have made this an A-League Men season to be endured rather than enjoyed, yet it’s hard to escape the feeling that clubs like Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix have been expected just to struggle on with little assistance for the benefit of a small contingent of clubs along Australia’s east coast.
It was no surprise to see the Sydney derby take top billing on Saturday night, and it was no surprise to see how much Western Sydney’s 2-0 win over Sydney FC meant to new Wanderers coach Mark Rudan.
Rudan played with distinction for the Sky Blues, and Western Sydney’s gritty derby win over his former club was the type of football Wanderers fans should expect from their broodingly intense coach.
Fleet-footed Wanderers midfielder Ramy Najjarine reeled defender James Donachie in hook, line and sinker for Western Sydney’s first, with Tomer Hemed confidently dispatching the deserved spot kick.
Keanu Baccus then powered home a header from a corner in front of the Red and Black Bloc to make it 2-0, with the best thing about the goal surely the fact the standing terrace was back in action for the night.
In another era, Rudan would have ended up as Sydney FC’s coach. Yet the Sky Blues’ third loss on the trot was a reminder that for all the talk about building a football culture, what fans really care about are victories.
That’s the only thing that will keep Richard Garcia in a job, even if seeing Perth Glory back at home was also a victory of sorts.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Shopping centres are just as busy as normal if you ask me
Grem
Roar Rookie
I think this is probably true for the A Leagues generally as well. This was supposed to be the renew and rebuild year with the APL in charge and a new broadcast contract. Things don't look much different at this time, but I still hope and believe the APL's promises for the brighter future are yet to be really pushed. This may have been a bad year to blow the budget on new initiatives, so best to hold off until things are more stable.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
that's a mighty good question Rob.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
WA'lians lived in a completely disconnected bubble for two years. My cousin lives over there......."we dont have covid here"! Yeah, well now they do, and people are a little edgy now that the bubble has burst.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Context is everything, and in respect to the comparison of J and A Leagues, the former has a lot more money, and at least 10 years additional development up its sleeve. Give it 10 years from now, and the playing stocks for other codes would have diminished a little, football's development would have advanced considerably, and the trend will be towards the beautiful game. Patience and faith, patience and faith.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
JB, insightful comments mate. I believe you are right, and with age comes wisdom. My old boy coached for 25 years. He learned as he went, and the same thing happened. He looked at the players he had, and challenged himself to get the best out of them, to employ them in a manner that best suited their strengths. That team went on to win six titles. They were extraordinary. At 15 years of age, the striker racked up 52 goals in one season, and that was in the top grade at the time. Aloisi has, in my opinion, not only undertaken an intraspective assessment of himself, but gone away and sought knowlege and A) that’s admirable and shows humility and B) it has resulted in a better Aloisi
Grem
Roar Rookie
Covid restrictions and Covid fear are now in Perth. 1. Capped crowd 2. People are scared to catch it so even shopping centres are quiet 3. Shed was closed This will affect the number of people attending.
Tim
Guest
When lower division European players star for A-League clubs, the headline is "the A-League is poor quality league". So by the same logic, when NPL players get signed for European clubs, the headline should be "European leagues are poor quality" :silly:
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
So many games still need to be made up, and notionally, we're only about half way through the seasons as originally fixtured. I'm starting to wonder what the plan is to complete the season. We probably need to add another couple of months, noting we delayed the start of the season. Anyone know whether anything concrete has been state publicly?
Redondo
Roar Rookie
AG - I think Sydney FC made a conscious decision to treat this season as a holding operation, correctly predicting COVID would make a mess of scheduling and support. So, while Sydney did a lot of good local recruiting, they held back on freshening up the more expensive imports. I'm guessing Narsingh is just an early taste of fresh signings from o/s for next season when things should be back to some semblance of normality. Ninkovic is clearly struggling and Bobo doesn't have much more left to give so they will most likely call it a day and be replaced. Barbarouses might drift off too. Maybe not Le Fondre though - he will have a proper pre-season and should be back to his best, if a little older. It's also easy to forget how big a loss Brattan was - his passing range gives so much more space for Ninkovic, Bobo, Le Fondre and Grant to do their work. And while Kamsoba and Burgess have both been good, with Brattan behind them they could have been so much better. For all his good points Caceres can't sub for Brattan because his passing is very limited in comparison. Ditto for Retre. We shouldn't forget also that Barbarouses, Yazbek, Zullo, Nieuwenhof and Zuvela have all been absent for extended periods. And King disappeared when he had just regularly become one of the team's best. I'm pretty sure Sydney still has one of the best XG and XGA records in the league too, just not converting that into points. Corica keeps saying as much but he gets ignored because winning is the only credible measure.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
Anyone get the crowd attendance in Perth, looked like 5k tops.
jbinnie
Guest
FIL -Apologise for the heading in last comment .should have read FIL. Another factor I should have included is that the present successful United team has an average age of 31. Surprised? Cheers jb
Football Fan
Roar Rookie
"But what many of those critics fail to understand is that the J.League is simply a higher standard of football than the A-League Men, meaning the likes of Ibusuki and Glory defender Kosuke Ota were always going to be decent-quality footballers in Australia." Mike, although it would be fair to say the J-League is generally of higher standard than the A-League, I'm not sure I agree with the logic in the last part of the above statement. There are many players that come from overseas leagues that simply make no impact in this league and are in fact much worse than players we have here, Sergio Guardiola comes to mind. He did nothing for Adelaide United yet he played for La Liga side Granada before he came here. Went back to La Liga 2 where he's scoring freely. Miguel Palanca also played in La Liga 2 before and after his stint at AUFC. Spent more time on the AUFC bench than on the field. Can I conclude this was bound to happen because the A-League is simply a higher standard than La Liga 2 ?
jbinnie
Guest
BIF -It amazes me somewhat to see United totally ignored, or putdown, by pundits of the game. After a year or so out of the game Aloisi was again tempted by an A-League job and what does he appear to have learned in his " holiday" ? A quick analysis of the squad he has put together tells how different his thoughts have changed to suit the competition he is performing in. To start he signed Young, probably over the last 5 years the most consistent keeper in the country and to "guard" the keeper he has signed a backline full of talent and experience in Risdon, Lacroix. Topor- Stanley and Garrucio. In midfield he has two very experienced (and clever) playmakers in Diamanti and Krhin allied to the hard working Lustica and Kilkenny. Up front there is more experience in Privoic and Pain with the other wing filled with the speedy Penha or Wales. So all in all we see a team full of experience and talent paying a simple 4-3-3 formation with instructions of their jobs when in, or out, of possession, hence the small but low scoring wins being enjoyed. Aloisi has been too long in the game as a player and a (not so successful coach) not to have recognised the need to match your tactics to the players you have available. The secret of good thinking and the road to success. Cheers jb.
Grem
Roar Rookie
A temporary situation and just checking – does your comment indicate Macarthur is the top team?
Grem
Roar Rookie
The comp won’t be fair in the eyes of certain supporters until Sydney play West Sydney Wanderers in another state! 6 teams in or based in NSW. Where are these games supposed to be played? One team based in SA so every second game has to be in another state. Sydney teams played most of their early games in NSW because of 6 teams being in the state and… Covid. Perth will now play most games at home because of… Covid, or is it West Coast bias. The argument is a joke and it actually comes from people who sound like knowledgeable, but biased supporters. Imagine if the soft penalty against Sydney on Saturday night was given to Sydney against Adelaide – you’d never hear the end of it.
chris
Guest
The only delusional fan is you. Your constant bleating of "east coast bias" just grates now. No mention of any dodgy decisions that SFC cop, but just the continual stream of "we wuz robbed" from fans from the smaller teams. Yes like Adelaide.
Paul
Guest
Brazil was an interesting one as many games were played in more temperate climates. Of the Socceroos three games, only one, v Chile in Cuiaba, was in a "hot" climates. Porto Alegre (Netherlands) and Curitiba (Spain) felt more like Melbourne and Sydney in winter respectively.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Semi-retired United is not just label I've given them. they looked and played like old men. Concur with AA's comments below. Every big team needs to be taken back to ground level once in a while. Sydney need it. They'll be better for it.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
I would agree with your assessment of the keeper. There are some young keepers who I would definitely consider before Kelava. I would like to see more of Hewitt-Belle, Sydney's lad. Whilst red beard was away with the National team the young fella was impressive in my opinion.