Perth Glory's stoppable force meets Melbourne City's moveable object

Perth Glory's stoppable force meets Melbourne City's moveable object

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When Perth travel to AAMI Park to face Melbourne City, it will be a clash between seventh and ninth.

However, look deeper and you will find another battle. Perth are in possession of one of the worst attacks in the league, a strike-force severely lacking goals that has not scored in over six hours. They are equal last in goals scored this season, with just six to date. Despite this, they will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing a City side whose poor defence is the equal of Perth’s disappointing attack. Despite all the big-name signings in the offseason, they have conceded the second-most goals in the league, costing them valuable points and putting pressure on coach John van‘t Schip. It is one of the league’s worst attacks up against one of the league’s worst defences; whoever rises above their weaknesses could claim victory.

Perth’s at times horrible attack has been the main talking point from their season. To put it into perspective, as a team, they have only scored one more goal than the two top scorers in the league, Besart Berisha and an opponent this week, Bruno Fornoroli. As many expected, the offseason loss of Andy Keogh and Jamie Maclaren has hurt the Glory, starving them of goals. Dutch signing Guyon Fernandez has not been the answer the club hoped he would be, appearing to lack chemistry with his team mates. Fans have also been unhappy with his low work ethic off the ball, one of Keogh and Maclaren’s greatest strengths. However, Perth’s problems go much deeper than Fernandez, and it would be unwise to blame solely him for their goalscoring woes.

Guyon Fernandez has yet to get going at Perth
Guyon Fernandez has yet to get going at Perth

The truth is, he is the only out-and-out striker in the team, and with him missing games through injury, there is a lack of alternative options. Sidnei Sciola, Chris Harold, Richard Garcia and Diego Castro have all been tried there this season. All of them are wingers, not used to leading the line, and it has shown on the pitch. While it is obvious they are all working hard, none of them have been effective enough to warrant praise. The only other strikers on the books are untested youngsters Stefan Valentini and Jamaal Reiners. It poses a big conundrum for Kenny Lowe, who has been hesitant to use them. However, if the goalless run conitnues, he may have no other option.

Luckily for the Glory, one of the few times they managed to put more than one goal past their opponents this season came against Melbourne City in the FFA Cup. Despite boasting some big names, City’s defence has seen more leaks than a Daily Telegraph expose into the A-League. The season is young, but the Glory have already conceded three goals in a game on three separate occasions (in losses to Melbourne Victory, Newcastle and Western Sydney). It is lucky for them their attack has been so prolific, scoring 13 times. Aaron Mooy has been the best player in the league and Fornaroli has been an excellent pickup up front. But they can only do so much, and it is time the defence stood up.

Thomas Sorensen has enjoyed a good season in goals, but he has been sold short at times by a youthful defence. Patrick Kisnorbo and Aaron Hughes, City’s first choice centre-backs, have endured injury-hit starts to the season, and the two veterans have been sorely missed. The inexperience of Jack Clisby, Connor Chapman, Paulo Retre and Matthew Millar has hurt City; despite their obvious talent, the lack of leadserhip in the back line has seen them ship 14 goals. Only bottom-of-the-table Adelaide have conceded more goals. Ivan Franjic is expected to return at right-back, which will boost the hosts, but do not expect it to be an immediate fix.

Given both team’s poor starts, they will be desperate for not just one point, but all three. The key to victory is overcoming their deficiencies. Perth are in the midst of a goal drought; they need something from somewhere and unfortunately for Kenny Lowe, given the absence of some key players due to injury, he has slim pickings to work with. They showed signs against Sydney of ending their barren run; however, at this level, showing promise gets you nowhere, and Perth desperately need to show a killer touch in front of goal soon. While City have had no trouble scoring, they need to shore up their defence quickly. With the squad of their calibre, it is fair to say they have disappointed early in the season, despite the injuries they have had to face. They have proved they can perform at one end of the park, now it is time the other end stepped up. If Perth can manage to exploit the back line and find the net, expect them to charge to victory. However, if City can hold out their stuttering attack, expect the Melbourne side to take the chocolates.

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