A-League Men: Perth Glory hoping to avoid equalling A-League Men’s longest winless run against Brisbane Roar

90 minutes is all that separates from Perth Glory from an unenviable record, as they strive to avoid equalling the longest winless run in A-League Men’s history. In a match-up rich with plot-lines and narratives, David Zdrilic’s men will head to Suncorp Stadium on Saturday to face fellow cellar-dwellers Brisbane Roar. The last time Perth Glory won a game it came against Brisbane back in February, as chairman Ross Pelligra watched his first game as owner. But it has been all downhill from there for the Glory, with an off-season change in coach from Alen Stajcic to Zdrilic doing little to alleviate their on-field woes. Their winning drought now stands at 18 games, and failure to beat Brisbane on Saturday would see them join the unwanted company of the 2013-14 Melbourne Heart and 2005-06 New Zealand Knights on 19 matches without a win. Standing in the Glory’s way of avoiding the unwanted history by claiming their first three points of the season is a familiar face: Roar coach Ruben Zadkovich, two seasons removed from his own stint as Perth head coach. Following his departure from the Glory in mid-2023, Zadkovich took over the Roar reins last season, but is under pressure to keep his job, with Brisbane having failed to win any of their first seven games this season. Zdrilic, his counterpart in Perth, is also under fire from fans over his side’s atrocious start to the season, which has seen them ship 24 goals in just eight matches, and pressure will ramp up even further should a historic loss in Brisbane eventuate. But young Glory attacker Khoa Ngo said while three points would no doubt boost confidence, they were not thinking about their 10-month long winless run or avoiding the record. “We think about what we can do that’s positive for this week, and us focusing on what we can do best for our team, and focus on one step at a time,” Ngo said. “That’s all we can do for now, because there’s no point in dwelling on that. “When this team is confident, we’re dangerous. Being able to work hard, and being able to get the win this week would definitely be a big move for us.” Ngo backed Zdrilic and said the coach had remained upbeat despite the poor start to the season. “Right now it’s a challenging time for him and the staff, but the way he’s been dealing with us, and the way he’s been pushing us and maintaining the positivity in this club and this team is exceptional,” he said. “There’s a lot of times where he could be really mad with us, because we haven’t been the best, but he’s maintained the positivity, and that just helps us wanting to work harder and harder for him to get the win for him.”