Perth Glory vs Brisbane Roar Analysis (Season 2018/19)
In a season that the Perth Glory dominated, their 4–0 thrashing of the Brisbane Roar at home in early February 2019 reflected their outstanding qualities: a strong backline and an electric frontline.
A double from Andy Keogh and goals from Jason Davidson and Diego Castro were enough for the Glory to smash the Roar, who barely laid a swipe at Liam Reddy in goal.
Castro was one of the standout players during the game, as he created 7 chances, completed 67% of his dribbles and he notched up an assist to go along with his strike midway through the second half.
Chris Ikonomidis was also impressive, as he was a thorn in Brisbane’s backline, as he won the most duels during the match, was fouled the most and completed the most dribbles.
Jason Davidson was faultless throughout the night, as he chipped in with a goal and an assist while also winning 67% of his aerial duels and making 8 recoveries.
Lineups
Tony Popovic made the one change to his starting eleven, as Andy Keogh came in for Joel Chianese, who moved down to the bench.
As for Brisbane Roar’s interim manager Darren Davies, there were four forced changes with Jack Hingert and Luke Devere out through injury, Alex López was ruled out due to suspension and Adam Taggart had just made the move to Korea.
Dane Ingham came into the side, along with Ruon Tongyik, Joe Caletti and Nick D’Agostino.
Statistics
To put it very simply and shrewdly, the Glory dominated this game from start to finish.
The hosts had more possession (61%), big chances (5), shots (27), crosses (20) and ultimately more clear-cut opportunities in front of goal, which was reflected in the 4–0 scoreline.
Defensively, the Roar had a better showing in terms of the frequency of defensive actions during the game than the Glory, as the away side had more tackles won (9), interceptions (13), clearances (17) and goalkeeper saves (6).
Summary
The game started initially quite cagey. A few misplaced paces, and not a lot of composure displayed by either side.
Glory eventually found their rhythm after a few minutes. What was consistent under Tony Popovic, for the first season especially, was that the Glory knew how to use the full width of the pitch.
Teams would think that they could suffocate the Glory whenever the ball would be locked in wide and deep positions in their back third.
However, this was a trick the Glory used quite frequently. Sometimes they’d go up the line, but when the opposition’s press wasn’t fully coordinated, it would leave Glory the opportunity to switch the play.
A common principle, the overload-to-isolate strategy would often work a treat with the non-ballside winger and wing-back holding their position, trusting their teammates to maneuver the ball from one side to the other.
As shown by the image below, Shane Lowry is on the ball. Diego Castro has his arm up. Often he would act as the guy that would link the attack, so he’s standing in a really dangerous position, surprisingly.
The lack of immediate pressure on Lowry, but also the fact that barely any of the Brisbane players were closing down the passing angles allowed the CB to make the pass straight to Castro.
Matt McKay allowed Castro to turn and that’s when you invite trouble.
Now while this transition didn’t result in a goal, it showed a few things.
Glory attack with numbers, and with tremendous speed. If the opposition aren’t organised behind the ball, so whether it be the distances between the lines or how quickly players come out to press as an example, it just invites the Glory to take advantage.
Another instance not long after where Brisbane looked disjointed in their shape came during Glory’s build-up.
Neil Kilkenny was extremely influential during the 2018/19 season. He was the conductor in the midfield, so trying to get him on the ball, even if it meant doing a few more passes to try and create space for him, the Glory would do whatever was necessary.
As an example, here the ball was on the Glory’s left-hand side. The passage of play between Davidson and Castro wasn’t going to lead to anything up the line, but the intention was to unlock space for Kilkenny.
Notice how Kilkenny is unmarked in the midfield? The lack of compactness from the Roar was a massive concern during the game.
So in this sequence of play, Davidson passed the ball to Castro, who then returned the ball to Davidson and then just like that Kilkenny was on the ball facing forward, with space ahead of him.
Now D’Agostino’s positioning prior to Kilkenny receiving the ball was a bit poor in my eyes. There was no communication between him and his partner, Dylan Wenzel-Halls, as to who would mark Kilkenny and then who would be ready to lead the press on the back three.
D’Agostino, in fairness, did recover well and restricted Kilkenny from going forward, but it’s just these small details that let Brisbane down in the end.
I’m assuming also that some of the players didn’t do their homework on the strengths of a few of the Glory players.
As a general rule of thumb, when you’re defending against someone that’s pretty quick, it’s important to understand where the space is for the attacker to exploit and to not get too tight.
Chris Ikonomidis, especially in the 2018/19 season, thrived when he could attack the space in front of him, as he could use his change of acceleration, speed and dribbling to drive the Glory forward.
Take this example below. Stefan Nigro is really tight to Ikonomidis before he’s even received the ball.
The problem is, there’s a lot of space in behind the left-back. A clever touch by Ikonomidis around Nigro leaves the defender out of position and space for the winger to attack.
Nigro tried to foul Ikonomidis by grabbing onto him, but Ikonomidis used his body very well and got past him.
Now, a few moments later illustrated quite clearly why Brisbane didn’t get anything out of the game.
A poor clearance from Shane Lowry allowed for a 50–50 contest between Joe Caletti and Juande, which Caletti won.
The big problem for the Roar was their inability to quickly transition and exploit the space left in behind the Glory backline.
Ivan Franjic would get into very advanced positions at times and Dino Djulbic didn’t have the greatest recovery pace in the latter stages of his career.
The Brazillian winger Henrique occupied himself in a very good position, as Matt McKay received the ball from Calletti.
Now Keogh did well to recover to force the Roar’s captain to make a pass over the top to Nigro, but the lack of speed upon getting the ball with space ahead of them was a big problem for Brisbane.
That phase of play led to a clearance from Djulbic, stopping the move.
Fortunately for the Roar, they got an opportunity on the counter as Djulbic’s touch was too loose as this allowed Dylan Wenzel-Halls to run at the Glory’s backline.
The young striker played an excellent ball to Nick D’Agostino, but unfortunately, the finish did not reward Wenzel-Halls’ hard work.
That lack of clinical edge hurt the Roar badly in this game, as having someone like Adam Taggart on the pitch could’ve seen the game sway in their favour.
In general play, the Roar found it difficult to break down the Glory’s defensive block. The distances between the lines, as well as the horizontal and vertical compactness, made penetration a challenge.
Sometimes gaps would open up, as the distances between the wing-backs and the centre-backs at times would be too great.
Henrique had a great moment to whip in a dangerous cross, as he received the ball in the left half-space but his end product was poor.
Sometimes the Roar’s front two pressure would be redundant, especially if the positioning of the players or the subsequent follow-up pressure from the midfield four wasn’t precise.
As an example, notice Juande making a blind-side movement to receive the ball.
Matt Spiranovic timed the pass well, as Wenzel-Halls went in to press the defender, Spiranovic released the ball to Juande who could receive facing forward.
Glory’s first goal came in the 19th minute, as the product of the home side’s patient build-up was finally rewarded.
Ensuring that the wing-back and winger have good relationships and understanding between each other is absolutely vital, as Ivan Franjic and Chris Ikonomidis worked very well leading into the goal.
A quick passing combination between the two players allowed Ikonomidis to attack in the right half-space.
Andy Keogh’s header, following Ikonomidis’ cross, was slightly off-target but it worked well in Glory’s favour.
As Glory would attack with five players, often the farside wing-back wouldn’t be picked up at the back post.
This allowed Jason Davidson to ghost in and smash the ball home from close range.
It was a rather fortunate goal as the goalkeeper was beaten on his front post, but nevertheless, it was a reward for the Glory’s early dominance in the game. That goal was coming.
Brisbane could never really put the Glory under severe pressure, as the moment the ball would be worked out to wide areas, often there would be a clear disadvantage in the box, as the Glory would often defend quite deep within their box.
Andy Keogh would often alleviate pressure for the Glory, as his willingness to compete in aerial contests and bring the ball down would allow the team to move up the pitch.
Counter-movements are an excellent formula teams can use to break down the opposition, and the understanding the Glory players had with each other during this season was fantastic.
Sometimes the patterns would essentially be automatic, as players would often think ahead as to where they should move before the ball gets to them.
Below is a good example, as Diego Castro broke the lines to find Chris Ikonomidis, simultaneously Ivan Franjic made the run in behind. The end product allowed Glory to get into the box and create a dangerous attacking situation.
When I talk about the Roar’s lack of defensive structure, this is another example of what I mean by this.
There would be moments where the Roar would look to press, but it would usually be beaten quite easily.
Quick passing, a mixture of vertical and horizontal passes, done at a good tempo, with adequate depth and width made by the team in possession are usually the key characteristics that help break a press.
Glory used those qualities in the example below.
Unfortunately for the Glory, Ivan Franjic, who had been impressive in the first half was forced off due to a hamstring injury.
His replacement, Scott Neville came on and he wasted no time, as basically a minute or two after coming on, he grabbed an assist.
Again, the Roar’s defensive structure was far too open, as Glory’s creative players were afforded time but more importantly space to exploit.
Below is Diego Castro on the ball. Dane Ingham didn’t even know that Neville was making a run, as the right wing-back was on his blindside.
Castro found Neville with a beautifully weighted pass, and the right wing-back delivered an excellent first time cross to which Andy Keogh headed home.
After the goal, the Glory really took control of the game, continuing to utilise the width of the pitch so well.
Take this example, as Diego Castro utilised his trickery to get past the defender before playing an excellent through ball to Scott Neville.
Glory grabbed their third goal just before half-time.
Chris Ikonomidis pinched the ball off Dane Ingham before driving infield to open the pitch.
The winger then found Castro, who glided past a few Brisbane defenders effortlessly, squaring the ball to Andy Keogh, where all the striker had to do was poke the ball home.
I’ve not spoken as much about the Glory’s block when defending a bit higher up the pitch.
During the season, and in this game in particular, the Glory would defend in a 5–2–3, sometimes a 3–4–3 depending on where the ball was. The shape would collapse into a 5–4–1 in the defensive third.
I criticised the Roar’s structure because of how big the distances were between the lines. As for the Glory, especially under Tony Popovic, defending in a compact manner is essential.
Above we could see Keogh forcing the play to one side, with both Castro and Ikonomidis occupying good positions near the respective centre-midfielder and full-back while Juande and Kilkenny are occupying the two centre-midfielders as well.
Often what this would do, is it would force the Roar in this game to go long which was exactly what Popovic would’ve wanted given the aerial advantage his 3 centre-backs had over both Dylan Wenzel-Halls and Nick D’Agostino.
Brisbane’s press in the early stages of the second half was much better, and it had to be, as they had to get back into the game.
Nick D’Agostino is someone who many teams would want up front, given his willingness to run but also how quickly he can close down a defender. In the example above, he forced a turnover from Shane Lowry, though unfortunately for the Roar, they lost possession almost instantly upon regaining it.
Glory’s 4th goal came just under 10 minutes in, as it started and ended with Diego Castro.
A poor long ball from Matt McKay was intercepted by Matt Spiranovic, who then found Castro. Anticipating the defender to apply quick pressure, the Spaniard flicked the ball to Keogh who found Jason Davidson first time.
Glory then got numbers forward very quickly, but Castro was very clever. He held his run very slightly, scanning where the opposition and his teammates were running to.
Davidson drove into the box, and that was the cue for the Spaniard to make his run, to which the left wing-back found him and then all Castro had to do was poke the ball underneath the defender’s legs.
Despite being 4–0 up, the Glory continued to attack. Brisbane’s lack of urgency when defending, but also their structure was just not at the level that it had to be to try and get a result away from home.
What didn’t help the Roar was that the home side were really starting to strut and play with that swagger and confidence that top sides play with.
Castro was playing with freedom and flair, his creativity was still going strong even after scoring as he picked out Scott Neville with a delightful ball over the top.
The game continued for a fair bit with Glory looking to attack, Brisbane getting stretched and essentially looking all over the place, but the home side couldn’t find a fifth.
That’s not to say the Glory weren’t getting into good positions. The Roar’s goalkeeper, Brendan White, had to make a number of saves to see off the likes of Chris Ikonomidis and Joel Chianese, who was introduced midway through the second half.
Tactically, from around the 80th minute onwards, there wasn’t much else to analyse.
Glory would still continue to attack, with numbers and at speed. The Roar would have the occasional spell of possession, that would sometimes lead to a chance but overall, they were thoroughly outplayed.
Brisbane losing possession, whether it be a poor touch or pass, didn’t help them either as Glory would often counter-attack against an undermanned Roar backline. The fitness levels of Perth Glory that season were incredible, the best I’ve seen them at least.
Concluding Thoughts
It was an entertaining performance from the Glory. A comfortable win, which was really the product of a team in hot form, at home, playing against a side that was lacking in confidence.
The front three of Keogh, Castro and Ikonomidis were on fire. Jason Davidson was also a constant threat.
Total domination from the home side, from a tactical perspective, as their structure and organisation, in the major phases of the game, allowed them to take full advantage of Brisbane’s lack of ideas.
