As the club prepares for its first Australia Cup Round of 32 tie since 2019, what better time to reflect upon our inaugural adventure in the knockout competition which took place exactly a decade ago?
With his English background, it was perhaps unsurprising that then-Head Coach Kenny Lowe made it clear right from the outset that Glory would be taking the new competition seriously.
And it soon became clear that they would need to as they were handed an away trip to Newcastle Jets for their first ever Cup tie.
But the visitors were unfazed by the cross-country trek and testing conditions at Wanderers Oval, with a debut brace from Andy Keogh easing them to a 2-0 victory and a place in the Round of 16.
Another long trip east followed and this time Glory recovered from a slow start to see off Victorian NPL side St Alban’s Saints 4-1 and set up a home quarter-final against Melbourne Victory.
And as always seems to be the case when Glory and Victory go head-to-head, there was drama aplenty.
View the match highlights HERE.
Having fallen behind to an early goal from Fahid Ben Khalfallah, the hosts hit back via the penalty spot, Keogh converting after Youssouf Hersi had been pulled down by Leigh Broxham.
Resplendent in their special-edition yellow and black Cup kit, Glory looked to have won it when Keogh nodded home a Scott Jamieson corner to make it 2-1 with just eight minutes left.
But with only second remaining, Brazilian midfielder Gui Finkler bent in a spectacular free-kick to send the tie into extra-time.
That late reprieve should, in theory, have given Victory the psychological upper hand and yet instead they proceeded to implode.
Daniel Georgievski saw red for an agricultural challenge on Jamieson nine minutes into extra-time and Daniel de Silva swiftly rubbed salt into the visitors’ wound when he capped a rapid counter-attack by rifling a low shot past Nathan Coe.
The contest was effectively ended moments later as Nebojsa Marinkovic clipped home Glory’s fourth and having taken his protests that Keogh was offside in the build-up to the goal too far, Adrian Leijer became the second Victory player to be dismissed.
Off the back of that epic clash in Perth, Glory’s semi-final against Bentleigh Greens was something of an anti-climax.
There was a fantastic atmosphere at a packed Kingston Heath Soccer Complex as the home fans did their best to help the NPL Victoria side spring a major upset.
But instead, Marinkovic (2) and Chris Harold supplied the goals as Lowe’s men made their brought their extra quality to bear and ran out convincing 3-0 winners.
And so to the inaugural Cup Final where Adelaide United lay in wait having been forced to overcome A-League opposition in all four previous rounds to get there.
After much to and fro about the venue for the game, the powers that be decided that Glory would travel to Coopers Stadium for a mid-December denouement.
Glory Cup Final t-shirts were printed, the Cup itself was brought to Perth for a promo visit and a sizeable contingent of fans subsequently travelled from the west to form part of a 16,000-strong crowd who witnessed a typically tense final.
View extended highlights HERE.
Goalmouth action was at a premium during a cagey first half, with Glory’s best chance falling to Richard Garcia who was just unable to round Eugene Galekovic having been played in behind by Marinkovic.
The sides remained locked at 0-0 when the half-time whistle blew, but shortly before the end of the opening period, Josh Risdon was shown a yellow card for a foul on Sergio Cirio and that transgression was unfortunately to prove very significant.
Just short of the hour-mark, with the Reds starting to get on top, Risdon tugged Marcelo Carrusca back on the right touchline and a second yellow card emerged from the pocket of referee Chris Beath.
Glory duly dug deep to try and stay in the game, but their resistance was broken in the 67th minute when Carrusca slipped the ball into Cirio’s path and he skipped past Danny Vukovic before finding the net from a tight angle.
To their credit, the ten men battled their way valiantly through the final 20 minutes, but were ultimately unable to deny Adelaide their history-making moment.
Nonetheless, the Cup journey had been a thrilling one and there would be more heroics the following year as Glory reached the Final once again, this time losing out to Melbourne Victory.
Since then, it has to be said, the Cup has provided more pain than pleasure, the low point undoubtedly coming in the form of a grim 2017 Round of 32 exit at the hands of Heidelberg United.
But Saturday evening provides the opportunity to create fresh memories, to write a new chapter in the club’s Australia Cup story, so make sure you’re there as David Zdrilic’s new-look side does battle with the 2016 winners, Melbourne City.
Kick-off at the Sam Kerr Football Centre is at 5:30pm and tickets are available HERE.
#ONEGlory
