The Wanderers look to make it three wins in a row when they host Perth Glory in Sunday evening A-League Men action.
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Momentum is starting to build for Alen Stajcic’s side as they are on a four game unbeaten run, with three of those games being victories, the most impressive of which was their 4-0 demolition of the defending champions on Saturday.
Two goals in the opening 13 minutes set the tone for the Red and Black as they showed no mercy against the Mariners, and they shot up the table thanks to the win.
There were four different goalscorers, showing the attacking threat the Wanderers have all over the pitch, whilst they also kept an important clean sheet, highlighting their improvement at the back in recent times thanks to some long awaited stability.
In another boost, Juan Mata was also able to make a cameo off the bench after missing two matches with a hamstring injury, and he could be drafted back into the starting lineup with Nicolas Milanovic suspended for the weekend’s match after picking up five yellow cards for the season.
This will place more importance on Bozhidar Kraev out wide, with the Bulgarian unlucky not to have won a penalty against the Mariners, but also Brandon Borrello, who has been an effective presence off the ball but is searching for a goal.
The attack is still humming along regardless, with the Wanderers now having the equal best scoring record in the league with 39 goals, and their goal difference has improved to +8, an important factor when considering the extremely tight race for finals places.
Just four points separate third and eighth, with the Wanderers currently sitting fifth in the logjam; at one point on Saturday they moved all the way up to third before some other results pushed them down the table.
The table will still have further swings as some teams have played more than others, making games like the Glory one this Sunday hugely important as the Wanderers look to cement themselves in the top six.
It has been a tough season for Perth and rookie coach David Zdrillic, with the Glory winning just twice all season, although one of these was against league leaders Auckland.
That said, that win was back in January, and they haven’t tasted success since then, losing three and drawing three of their matches since then.
A young and inexperienced Glory side have the worst defence in the league, having shipped 41 goals, and also only have 12 goals in 19 matches.
They have a few former Wanderers in their ranks, with Tomi Mrcela being a mid-season addition, whilst youngsters Nathaneal Blair and Adam Bugarija joined at the start of the season.
Jarrod Carluccio was also at the club at the beginning of the season, but he has since re-joined the Wanderers and will be in line to appear against his old club on Sunday.
The Wanderers will also be buoyed by beating the Glory back in January in a tight and gritty 2-1 win in WA.
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins in a tough midweek fixture, but a Zac Sapsford goal clinched victory for the Red and Black, who had gone ahead thanks to an early own goal before an Adam Taggart equaliser.
They can’t take it too lightly, as Perth did win in their last trip to Parramatta in a surprise 2-1 win of their own.
Stajcic was the coach for Perth then, and he will hope to plot their downfall as he looks to lead the Wanderers to the finals.
