There was no sugar-coating Perth Glory’s performance after an 8-0 humbling at the hands of Melbourne City in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Sunday, with head coach Alen Stajcic apologising to the fans.
Perth were on the end of unwanted history at AAMI Park, where finals-chasing City recorded the largest margin of victory in the history of the competition.
City showed no mercy in Melbourne, scoring five goals in 15 first-half minutes – a feat that equalled an Isuzu UTE A-League record.
8-0! Melbourne City make history in merciless display that keeps finals hopes alive
Tolgay Arslan completed his hat-trick in the second half as bottom side Perth endured a forgettable day in front of a strong travelling contingent.
“It was pretty poor,” coach Stajcic told Network 10 post-game after owner Ross Pelligra was in the stands. “Obviously a capitulation there for a half-an-hour period end of the first half.
“Looked like we were on ice skates there for a long time. Couldn’t keep our feet, couldn’t tackle, couldn’t pass, couldn’t dribble. There was actually quite a few turnovers too.
“Ultimately it was pretty poor and we’re all accountable. The players are accountable and as a team we were pretty poor. It’s a shame that 100 or more fans came out to watch us play and we put on a display like that.”
There was a moment inside the early exchanges involving Glory youngster Daniel Bennie, which Stajcic felt he should have went down under a challenge from City goalkeeper Jamie Young.
LIBERTY A-LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS CONFIRMED: Everything you need to know
The ball went out for a corner and when asked if that was a turning point at 0-0, Stajcic said: “You never know. It’s a turning point in the game. To me it was very close to a penalty anyway. He should’ve went down to be honest and got the penalty. Potentially a yellow or red card to follow as well so definitely a game-turning moment.
“But you can’t really go back to that… because half an hour of absolute capitulation. The second half I thought we actually had six or seven good chances. We were pressing and fighting – at least we fought to the death in the second half.
“But ultimately what you can do is apologise to everyone who supports the club because it’s a pretty poor performance overall.
“We have six or seven days now to pick ourselves up and fight Western United off for the wooden spoon. I’m already looking forward to that game. You have to forget about this one, you have to learn from it and move on and fight.”
Glory forward David Williams – who came off the bench at half-time – also fronted the media and he told Network 10: “It’s very difficult. Melbourne City are a very good team. They’ve shown that for many seasons.
“We can’t underestimate their ability. They’ve had a bit of a rocky season compared to the past years but we were just outdone.
“I think we have a lot of young kids who we might be relying on too much. But sitting on the bench in the first half, it’s a collective not the 11 boys on the pitch.
“As a whole club, it’s disappointing to put out that effort when we have some unbelievable fans spending their hard earned money and we’re kind of waltzing around the pitch a bit.
“There’s an element of effort there for the guys but it just didn’t work today. There’s no excuses. It has to start from the top and filter a few things down. A lot of boys are playing for different situations, whether it be contracts or going overseas.
“… It’s a hard one to swallow. It’s a learning curve for a lot of people. Even me at 36, I can take something from it.
“Thank you to the supporters and people who travelled and spent their hard earned cash to see a miserable performance.”
Williams added: “When people stay at home for those reasons, I totally get it.
“What boosts the players and the club is people coming through and scanning their passes to support us. To grow in that sense, you put in a good performance and a few more people come.
“We’re going the opposite way in that sense. I can’t plead for people to come. It’s a difficult situation but there’s things to build on. New owners and things are going to chance next season.
“Sorry to the fans who dedicate a lot of their time and money to the club and we put out that performance… we have to do more to not let that happen again. I could talk all day and there’s probably things I could say but not on TV.”
