Keeping control of the ball and retaining possession is the key to the Glory’s chances this season, according to coach Ian Ferguson.
Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson has praised his side’s ability to control the game in their 2-0 win over Melbourne Heart on Sunday at nib Stadium.
Perth won their opening match of the season against Brisbane 1-0, but lost to Central Coast by the same scoreline in Gosford last weekend.
Ferguson said he put an emphasis on Perth’s ability to control the ball throughout the week after their disappointing effort against the Mariners.
“I felt we were in control for a lot of the game, but with one goal in it you always feel as though Heart are going to be dangerous,” he said.
“It could change in a heartbeat so we were always a little bit nervous until the second goal went in.
“There was a big emphasis this week on retaining the ball. Last week we were rushing things and turning the ball over.
“This week we worked really hard on retaining the ball and being patient and I was really pleased with that.”
Melbourne struggled to work their way into the match across the afternoon and had only one shot on target, but Ferguson said he was well aware of how quickly the game could have changed.
“The movement they’ve got with (Matt) Thompson and a breaking forward (Mate) Dugandzic coming in off the line, (Dylan) Macallister that big target man, it could change in a heartbeat,” he said.
Temperatures rose above 30 degrees during the match and Ferguson’s counterpart John Aloisi raised concerns about the effect it had on his team.
However, Ferguson played down the heat and said it was the same for both teams.
“I think when you look at our players at the moment in the dressing room they’ve put in a massive shift in the hot conditions,” Ferguson said.
“It’s not ideal to play at two o’clock in the afternoon, the hottest part of the day here, so they’ve put in a decent shift.”
Perth brought Nick Ward off the bench for the third straight game as well as Chris Harold and they appeared to spark the Glory late as Melbourne fatigued.
“I had a chat with them before the game and said you’re going to get the opportunity to come on because of the weather, the heat and so on and depending on how the game was going,” Ferguson said.
“I knew bringing them in would give us that fresh energy and that’s what proved to happen.
“Chris had three shots when he came on, (Adrian) Zahra did well as well and again, young boys just excited and enthusiastic they can make a big difference.”
