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Glory Reach a New Lowe – Round 11

Its been one of those weeks for Perth Glory. In the news for all the wrong reasons. Behind the scenes issues which have spilled over into the mainstream media, public sacking of the head coach and now a revolt amongst fans against the once loved captain Jacob Burns. It was almost easy to forget that the Perth Glory home game against Adelaide United was scheduled this week and for a lot of the fans, it was a game they could forget.

The mood from the crowd was dull, which matched the game atmosphere perfectly.

The mood from the crowd was dull, which matched the game atmosphere perfectly.

As a passionate member of the “Shed”, the atmosphere was noticeably different this time round. The fans were quieter than usual and the players seemed less enthusiastic upon their entrance to the ground. Even as the team sheet was announced, there was a mixture of cheers and boo’s for the captain, Jacob Burns, who had been at the centre of the feud between the coaching staff and players.

As kickoff commenced, many of the fans were hoping the politics and negativity surrounding the club this past week would be settled on the pitch. With the new coach Kenny Lowe (another local WA boy) in the helm, it would be an unpredictable game. What many didn’t predict, was the 0-0 bore draw which played out.

Both teams were playing a defensive style, which made it feel like both teams were playing to ensure they didn’t lose, rather than going out looking for the win. This was possibly the worst outcome for spectators, as it was almost clear to the fans that the week that was had taken its toll on the team, with many playing with their ‘head in the clouds’ and having moments of lapse-minded passes. Jacob Burns, who was clearly feeling the pressure of the week, started out strong, playing his famous defensive and controlled style of play and winning plenty of the ball in the middle. Although later in the match, he had an unfortunate string of events, which led to multiple stray long-ball passes to no-man’s land.

As an overall review, my top 3 best players and bottom 3 players for Perth Glory were:

Top 3:

  1. Adrian Zahra – coming off the bench for an injured Ryo Nagai, Zahra provided the Glory with a much needed spark which led to two great chances on goal, which were poorly finished.
  2. Matt Davies – has been outstanding since taking over from Josh Risdon, Davies received one of the loudest cheers of the game when he showed his enthusiasm to stop a dangerous cross from an Adelaide winger.
  3.  Danny Vukovic – the rock at the back, Danny made some amazing saves which luckily kept the clean sheet for the goalless draw.

Bottom 3:

  1. Jamie Maclaren – due to a tied up midfield, this game was thin on scoring chances, unfortunately Maclaren had some of the best chances of the game, which all went to waste. Maclaren had the crowd cursing his name by the end of the game due to his errors.
  2. Steven McGarry – countless bad passes had the ball fall straight to Adelaide’s feet, with a some allowing Adelaide to create some good chances on goal.
  3. Jacob Burns – started strong, but faded away in the final quarter. Burns’ was clearly feeling the pressure this week, and his performance was unfortunately affected.

Overall, both teams will take the point from the draw thankfully, as both teams are struggling to rack up the wins. With both teams, technically in development phases of their lifecycle, can write this week off as “growing pains” part of the development process. The question now remains, will Kenny Lowe keep the Glory afloat?