TFT Issue 3338!

When these two teams last met a few weeks back, Perth Glory ran riot; 5-3 actually flattered Adelaide United, given the one-sided nature of the contest. Adelaide United have a very young team, you see, and it’s been noted that on a few occasions already this season, they’ve been bullied out of games, particularly away from home. I thought they improved on that front against Brisbane Roar lately but still lost the match so there’s work for Veart and co. to do. 

The improvements at Adelaide United are more than tangible, really. I’m not convinced it’ll be enough to see them record an improved result against Perth Glory today, but I wouldn’t bet against it either. I mean, The Reds get star target man Juric and experienced Spanish defender Lopez back for this encounter, both of which were missing for the trip to Brisbane, and I think that it was more than evident that they weren’t on the pitch by Adelaide United’s lack of out ball, the inconsistency of their penetration, and the simplicity Brisbane Roar had with carving them open at the other end. With those players back, Adelaide United are less likely to be bullied as much as they were in Perth, and that in itself should allow them to not only see more of the ball, but to ask serious questions of a very unfamiliar Perth Glory defence.

I mean, Adelaide United bagged three goals against Perth Glory without having more than five minutes of sustained possession in the entire game. Every single goal that Adelaide United scored was a horrendous gaffe on Perth Glory’s side. Now, the excellent attacking and finishing on Perth Glory’s side (as well as the positive outcome) kinda masked that. However, even since then, Garcia’s men have been making too many defensive errors, seldom forcing teams into creating many chances in order to score against them. I partially expect that as he’s named really attacking line-ups since taking over, and they’ve been a pleasure to watch, but folk seem to forget that they changed their entire defence pre-season, and they’ll require time to adjust.

Subsequently, Adelaide United really should have more than enough chances to win this game today. Whether they do or not, I couldn’t say. Again, it’s a very young team; one that I like a lot though. I like how they’re getting the best out of Mauk again, and how much of a leader both Halloran and Juric are maturing into. I love how Mohamed Toure, Dukuly, and and D’Arrigo are playing like they’re three or four years older than they are, and how Veart is getting so much out of Konstandopoulos, I don’t know. Veart has a real advantage when managing kids, though. A lot of these fellas he used to manage when they were a lot younger than they currently are so there’s a real chemistry and cohesion about this group.

Adelaide United are probably better defensively now than they have been in years too, but the problem is that they’re yet to find a midfielder to stop teams getting at them. Isaias used to be marvellous at it, and even Lustica in his time did alright at it. There’s not a player like that here, so this defence is more exposed, and that will always lead to more goals being conceded. That’s especially true with a very young goalkeeper between the sticks in Delianov, although I have to confess that I’ve been more impressed with him than any other young goalkeeper playing in the A-League this season. Still, they’re going to make mistakes, and there are certain teams at this level that are capable of pushing their buttons better than others, and Perth Glory looks like one of those teams right now.

I mean, Fornaroli is a brilliant forward, Irish battler Keogh returns today and his movement is outstanding, and Spanish wizard Castro is available too – those three are capable of steering Glory to victory against any team at A-League level. Target man D’Agostino has four in four though, which will no doubt have the Twitter tipsters going into meltdown. In reality, he’s a good aerial threat but not a great player, unlike the others, but has benefited from a new, attack-minded Perth Glory. If you want a talented youngster to watch out for, I would suggest Armiento; he’s been heavily involved in most things Perth Glory have done this season. To think all this has happened whilst Ikonomidis has been absent though, who is arguably better than everybody else but Castro. From an offensive perspective, this is a deadly team.

Defensively speaking, they’re not convincing. I think they will be in due course – or at least better than they are – but not yet because all of their newbies haven’t had enough time together. Langkamp hasn’t kicked a ball yet, one of their defenders (Rawlins) is sixteen(!), and none of them have played together professionally before. What else is to be expected but chaos? They’ll still ship goals in the future too, because Garcia wants them to attack more than Popovic did, but they can certainly defend better than they have been. I can’t help but wonder if this time around, Adelaide United might outscore them. They’re going to have to win more 50/50 battles, but if they can do that, then they stand a chance.

It’s youth vs experience today, folks – pick whoever you like; they can both win this game. For me though, it should be a high-scoring game, whichever way it goes.