Perth Glory qualified for the Australia Cup Round of 16 after a thrilling showdown against Melbourne City on Saturday night. This is what we learned from the clash.
David Zdrilic’s new-look Perth Glory rallied from the jaws of defeat to stun Melbourne City 5-4 after extra time in their Australia Cup Round-of-32 meeting at a capacity Sam Kerr Football Centre, where they had trailed 4-2.
Saturday night’s showdown had a bit of everything – goals, drama and the continued emergence of some talented youngsters in WA – as Perth reached the Round of 16 for the first time in eight years.
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While Socceroos star and reigning Isuzu UTE A-League Golden Boot winner Adam Taggart came off the bench to score, it was three new young guns who propelled Glory to victory.
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Former Western Sydney Wanderers forward Nathanael Blair scored twice, including the 115th-minute winner in extra time, while fellow ex-Wanderer Adam Bugarija was also on target in his competitive bow for Perth. As was former Bulls FC Academy prospect Abdelelah Faisal.
While City lost, there were club debuts for Kai Trewin and German Ferreyra, while Arion Sulemani, Lawrence Wong, James Nieuwenhuizen and Ben Dunbar made their senior bows.
“Can I sum it up? Not really,” head coach Zdrilic told reporters post-match.
“That was the perfect cup game. Towards the end, either team could’ve gone on with the result. From my side, it was just an excellent character and mentality the team showed. We went out and did exactly what we wanted – we want to go hard.
“Obviously this time in pre-season, to maintain it wasn’t easy and Melbourne City are a good side.
“After 4-2, the character of the guys… they drove it. The mentality to implement what we’re trying to do isn’t easy especially when the game goes into extra time but they kept driving. The principles didn’t change. The philosophy is there, it’s engrained in them.
“Great for the boys and the fans to show it’s a very different Perth Glory this year. Maybe they don’t want that kind of a game and the flow of back-and-back, but it was a great character-building result.”
It’s a new era in Western Australia. Not only are there new owners, but a new coach with a new philosophy and new players leading the charge at a club that finished bottom of the Isuzu UTE A-League last season.
With former Sydney FC assistant Zdrilic at the helm, Perth are adopting a high-octane brand of football and relentless pressing style.
It is a style which he helped implement alongside Sydney FC head coach Ufuk Talay last season – through his experience with the Red Bull Group at German Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig, working with the likes of Austria head coach Ralf Rangnick and current Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann.
With that new philosophy has come some new faces.
Blair made the move from the Wanderers to Perth this off-season which was described as a “massive signing” by the club’s football director Stan Lazaridis.
The 20-year-old arrived at Glory having made seven A-Leagues appearances across two seasons at Wanderland, where he debuted in 2022.
Blair – who spent a year away from football before returning to play for APIA Leichhardt in 2022 prior to joining the Wanderers – had also scored 13 goals in NPLM NSW this season before being lured away by Glory.
He was actually working at Bunnings when the Wanderers reached out to say they were interested in signing him two years ago.
Now, Blair has scored three goals in two Australia Cup appearances for Perth.
Then there is Faisal, who has also struck three times in his first two competitive matches for Glory following his arrival from Macarthur FC.
The 18-year-old made headlines at Bulls FC Academy with hat-tricks in back-to-back matches in Football NSW League One this season.
Lazaridis also likened Faisal to Liverpool superstar Mo Salah and he opened the scoring against City on Saturday night.
Bugarija, 19, sent the match into extra time with his equaliser two minutes from the end as he opened his account for Perth.
The teenager spent two years with Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb before he joined the Wanderers in 2023.
“It’s not just who starts the game, we want to have a team that keep going, going and going,” Zdrilic said.
“Obviously it’s a luxury to have Tags (Adam Taggart) coming on at half-time and we know the quality he has. But the guys who are maybe lesser-known at the moment, you saw what they can do.
“Just the mentality to implement something that’s totally different to what they’re used to. The way they went out about it was perfect. All these young guys come in and listen to the instructions and do whatever we ask of them.
“The older guys spurred them on and helped them.”
Match Details
Perth Glory: 5 (Faisal 3′, Taggart 47′, Blair 74′ 115′, Cardeno 88′)
Melbourne City: 4 (Caputo 36′, Politidis 52′, Nabbout 64′, Schreiber 69′)
Date: Saturday August 3rd 2024
Venue: Sam Kerr Football Centre, WA
Perth Glory: 1. Oliver Sail (GK), 4. Luke Bodnar (22. Adam Taggart 46′), 5. Lachlan Barr, 6. Brandon O’Neill (29. Jacob Muir 113′), 9. David Williams (c) (16. Adam Cardeno 70′), 12. Taras Gomulka, 15. Zach Lisolajski (26. Khoa Ngo 105′), 17. Jarrod Carluccio, 19. Josh Risdon, 21. Abdelelah Faisal (14. Nathanael Blair 70′), 28. Kaelan Majekodunmi
Unused Substitutes: 13. Cameron Cook (GK), 23. Jaylan Pearman
Melbourne City: 40. James Nieuwenhuizen (GK), 2. Callum Talbot, 8. Jimmy Jeggo, 15. Andrew Nabbout, 16. Aziz Behich (c) (35. Medin Memeti 117′), 17. Max Caputo (20. Arion Sulemani 89′), 19. Zane Schreiber (42. Benjamin Dunbar 99′), 21. Alessandro Lopane (41. Lawrence Wong 105′), 26. Samuel Souprayen (22. Germán Ferreyra 91′), 27. Kai Trewin, 38. Harry Politidis (23. Marco Tilio 73′)
Unused Substitutes: 33. Patrick Beach (GK)
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