It seemed like a great idea at the time.
Marking the build-up to Saturday’s clash with Hyundai A-League new boys Western United by reflecting upon our previous clashes with start-up clubs in the competition.
And then we unearthed Glory’s overall record against both North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United and suddenly our bright idea seemed a lot less sparkly.
But in the interests of fairness and historical integrity, let’s lay those bare facts and figures out:
Glory faced Fury six times during the Townsville-based club’s two-year stint in the A-League and those games yielded three draws and three defeats for the men in purple.
And it was a pretty similar story with Gold Coast United.
Following a first-up draw with the Queenslanders in September 2009, Glory picked up two wins and another draw, while suffering five defeats before the sun finally set on the yellow-and-blues after three seasons.
But while the results against United and Fury were generally underwhelming from a purple perspective, there were certainly some memorable meetings with both clubs.
The Round One 3-3 thriller with Fury back in 2010 is definitely one; Robbie Fowler making his competitive debut for Glory in front of over 16,000 fans and the two sides throwing everything at each other right up until stoppage-time when Chris Grossman’s goal snatched a point for the visitors.
Then there were the 2011-12 showdowns with United which saw Glory secure impressive 2-0 and 4-0 wins at home before being shocked 3-0 at Skilled Park en route to the Grand Final.
And these games were also memorable for the unothodox touchline attire sported by two of the A-League’s most colourful coaches, Frans Straka and Miron Bleiberg.
For Frans, it was all about the cream jacket, even during Townsville’s epic tropical downpours.
While Bleiberg rocked denim religiously throughout his time with United.
This Saturday will hopefully see Glory improve upon their historical record against the league’s new entrants and obviously, we’d love to see Mark Rudan working some cream, beige, or even taupe into his matchday outfit.
But for now, we’d love to get your memories of Glory’s head-to-heads with Gold Coast and North Queensland, so please join the conversation via Facebook HERE or Twitter HERE.
#OneGlory
