A common complaint made by AFL and NRL types about our brand of football is that too many games end "without a result." The sense that 90 minutes of energy can be devoted to a game without one side being declared a winner at the end is seen as somehow futile.
Normally, I simply dismiss such criticisms as baseless because a draw, for me, is a result. If neither team is able to justify their superiority in a match by achieving the ultimate aim of putting the ball into the goal more often than their opponent, then neither team deserves to be called a winner. Conversely, neither team deserves to lose if they are able to defend their goal equally as well as their opponents and so sharing the points seems entirely justifiable. That two teams should meet in a match of AFL and score in the order of 100 points each only for one team to be declared ultimate winner due to a 1% better performance than their opponents for me is the greater injustice when comparing the two games.
All that said, the 3-3 result against North Queensland in Glory's opening day match felt extremely hollow for the excellent crowd of 16,019 at the newly dubbed nib Stadium. Whether it was the lateness in which Fury scored or the fact that Perth managed three excellent goals but still didn't win, Dave Mitchell was definitely not the only one who felt like the home side had lost.
In a match that may not have been at the pinnacle technically but certainly provided everything else you could hope for in a game of football, a single point out of three seemed like scant reward for both sides. Fury must have felt like winners after Chris Grossman's late header, but when they look at the table they will be no higher or lower than Perth who looked like winners for the majority of the match but never looked comfortable with the concept of ensuring victory.
Perhaps this would've been one game where it would've been better to throw the players into the spectacular game of chance that is a penalty shoot-out just so one team could feel like winners and the other like losers. At least then they wouldn't have to struggle with the conflict of feeling like both!
Where Glory 'Won'
Perth can feel like victors based on some very impressive aspects of their game. Scott Neville in particular but also Naum Sekulovski were excellent coming forward from their full-back positions and creating havoc down Fury's defensive flanks. The Neville-Cernak battle was probably the most enthralling sub-plot of the game, and both players allowed the other to exert significant influence on their respective sides' attacking thrusts. Either player could've been man-of-the-match had their side secured victory. As it was perhaps sharing the award along with the points would be fairer.
Glory also looked very good once they gained controlled possession in the attacking third. Pellegrino, Sterjovski and Fowler all proved themselves capable of delivering killer passes given the chance and the clinical finish by Jelic to open the scoring gave the same glimpse of potential that fans saw before injury ruined his debut A-League campaign. If Perth can harness their technically gifted attack they will score plenty of goals this season and thrill fans along the way.
Where Glory 'Lost'
The defence was the obvious weak link for Perth in this game. Without Chris Coyne, Andy Todd or Josh Mitchell it was left to stalwart pair of Jamies to marshal the defence. Fans have learned over time not to expect much of Jamie Coyne, and while illness might partially excuse his performance I doubt anyone will be holding their breath for something better against Victory. Harnwell was his usual strong self and provided surprising thrust at times as Perth moved forward, but certainly his lack of pace allowed the exciting duo of Williams and Cernak to provide a constant threat. Sekulovski and Neville are always going to be better going forward than holding up opponents, and so really the return of Andy Todd can't come soon enough and Dean Evans or Steve Hesketh might be worth a call-up from the youth squad.
Glory also wasted far too many attacks due to a predictable lack of intent moving forward. David Mitchell is under immense pressure to prove his tactical competency this season, and if the opening match is any indication he won't be able to achieve that. Fowler was wasted by continually switching to the backpost whenever Perth moved forward and this allowed Fury to easily isolate him from the game. Sterjovski was almost comical as he ran down the left flank time and time again before predictably cutting back onto his right foot to look for the cross. Ironically the one time he did use his left boot was a glorious chance one-on-one with Pasfield which he should've fired with his right into the far corner. Pellegrino was excellent with the ball at his feet in space, but struggled with concepts of dealing with defensive pressure and running. All these players are capable of more and really it has to be up to Mitch to get it out of them.
One game into the season, there's still not really much to indicate where Glory's season will end up. The glimpses of a side capable of winning a Championship were there, but the lapses that have cost us so dearly over the last five seasons haven't yet been eradicated. Mitchell is the man to fix that, and so the hopes of 12,000 Glory supporters and 4,000 Robbie Fowler fans weigh on his shoulders.
