Round 7 of the Isuzu UTE A-League season marked Perth Glory men’s first visit to Macedonia Park.
For a club which has become so used to being displaced throughout the past three seasons, finally, they have a home again – even if it is temporary. First it was Covid separating both Glory’s men’s and women’s teams from a home base in WA altogether – but this season, the redevelopment of HBF Park is what forced the club to look for alternatives.
Macedonia Park proved the most viable option for a temporary home; Glory’s men’s side spent the first six rounds of the season on the road as the National Premier League venue was decked out with temporary stands and sufficient lighting – Ruben Zadkovich’s side made their long-awaited debut at the ground on Saturday, December 10 against reigning champions Western United.
Zadkovich made it his pre-game mission to assure his charges were fully committed to making Macedonia Park a fortress.
“Alright, make sure you know: we’re searching for f****ng back to back home wins. Don’t worry about that first win, back to back home wins. You know why? We’re f****ng good at home, that’s the first thing,” Zadkovich said in the pre-game huddle, followed by the A-Leagues All Access documentary crew.
Zadkovich is the focal point of this week’s episode of the docuseries, titled Beautiful, Not Perfect. It’s the phrase he uses to describe his side’s home away from home, using the same descriptive language to describe his team ahead of a clash with the champions.
WATCH: A-LEAGUES ALL ACCESS, EPISODE 10: BEAUTIFUL, NOT PERFECT
“Play with no f***ing fear. Zero fear, enjoy the ball,” he continued.
“I heard the words in here, I keep hearing people say it: enjoy the ball. That takes someone to f***ing stand 10 feet tall with a big set of nuts, get on the ball and play.
“Play to our strengths, back each other… play for the fans and the members, play for the people that f****ng put this stadium together for you. It’s our f****ng home.
“It’s beautiful that it’s not perfect, that is f****ng us to a tee. Make sure the mentality is forward, forward, forward, forward. Ask f****ng questions. You’ll be surprised what you f****ng find out.
“Let’s go.”
Produced by KEEPUP Studios and JAMTV, each new episode of the docuseries will debut on Thursday at 7:30pm AEDT on 10 Play, KEEPUP.COM.AU, the KEEPUP app and KEEPUP on YouTube. It will be available on Australia’s fastest growing streaming service, Paramount+, and will then be broadcast on 10 Bold at 2:00pm AEDT on Saturday afternoons as an appetiser for the evening’s Isuzu UTE A-League Men game on the same channel.