Disappointing campaign and no improvement in the problematic areas from previous seasons saw Glory missing out on the play-offs and deservedly so. The Violets had the worst defensive record of all sides in the A-League during this campaign and the way they were shipping goals round after round doomed them to fail.
The problems were there from the start with Glory conceding two goals or more in 5 of their opening 7 matches, which quickly saw them playing a catch up game.
In previous years the efficiency of the forward actions was able to compensate to some extent for the poor defending, but this season the attacking force was hammered by key injuries. Taggart started the campaign well with 3 goals in the first 5 rounds, but then he spent two long spells on the sidelines and didn’t score again until round 21.
The Spanish engines in midfield Castro and Guerao also had injury issues and between them they missed 12 games, which seriously disrupted the stability of Glory’s organisation.
The destiny of the season was decided in what was a nightmarish January that not only saw Glory losing all of their five matches, but they conceded the shameful 17 goals in these 5 fixtures!
Once everyone was back fit late in the season and Kilkenny and Djulbic joined during the winter transfer window Glory showed potential and between rounds 21 and 26 they achieved four wins and a draw, which allowed them to have a decisive last-round showdown at home against Roar for the last available play-off spot. Unfortunately the Violets once again paid the price for being pathetic at the back and they lost 2:3, which ended their season.
