by Ben Gilby (13/12/24)
Above: Nat Tathem talking to the media ahead of Sunday’s game with Adelaide United. Image: Perth Glory.
Perth Glory defender Nat Tathem believes that the heartbreaking way that her team fell to Melbourne Victory last Sunday can spur them on to success this coming weekend when they host Adelaide United at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game against the high-flying South Australian side, the 28-year-old reflected on head coach Stephen Peters’ message to his team his week to ensure that a similar outcome doesn’t happen again.
“It was hard to take…Stephen’s main message is ‘What can we learn from this? How can we be better?’ From the start of the season, our team has been getting better and you can see that out on the pitch. We need to control the controllables, and learn from that moment in the game.
“From the stats, that was, like the only shot on target (that Melbourne Victory had), so I think Casey (Dumont, Perth goalkeeper) was frustrated as she didn’t have much to do, and that’s always a keeper’s worst nightmare.
“I think defensively we have been copping a few goals, a few long-range shots in the last few matches, so that’s definitely been something we’ve been concentrating on – keeping a clean sheet. We were three minutes away from our first clean sheet, so it was really deflating for us.”
Whilst the loss to Melbourne Victory, which saw the Glory drop to one off the bottom of the ladder, was hard to take, there are signs of improvements in the team’s season defensively. The Western Australian side conceded 10 goals in their first three games, but have only let in two subsequently. Tathem puts this down to the squad gelling and being able to field their best players in the right positions.
“In pre-season, we had a lot of injuries, a lot of changes to our back line, so the first few games was trying to get used to that mix. We brought a lot of new players in our squad this season, compared to other teams in the league, so we’ve had to figure out the play. A few of those games were a bit of blow outs – decision-making in the last 20, 30 minutes because of our fitness. After the first few games, we’ve been able to get our fitness up and mould together as a team and that’s why you can see we are conceding less goals now.
“I was playing centre back at the start (of the season), just filling spaces for some girls we had coming back (from injury), but I’ve been around long enough and I know most positions on the pitch. I just want to be on the pitch, I don’t care what position that’s in…I think the fact that he (Stephen Peters, head coach) has me as a versatile player helps the team and helps me as he knows that if something has to change, it doesn’t have to come from the bench.”
Over the same time that Perth’s defensive record improved, their goalscoring stats have taken a turn in the other direction. Five goals were scored in the first two games, but only one has been netted since then. It’s something that needs to be put right quickly. Tathem believes that the fighting spirit is there in the squad to ensure it happens.
“Coming originally from Brisbane, it’s a state where we only have one team, so I think I really understand that mentality. We fight not just for Perth, but for the whole of Western Australia, there’s no other (pro) team here, so I really like that environment.”
Tathem’s influence has been rewarded this week as the Queenslander was named in the squad list for Australia’s national female Futsal team for their training camp between 16th and 20th December to prepare for the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup China 2025 Qualifiers.
The defender was named alongside former Perth Glory players Demi Koulizakis and Mariana Tabain, plus Western Australian Zoee Spadano. It’s a particular thrill for Tathem as it was the avenue of the sport that first grabbed hold of her.
“I started playing Futsal first. I didn’t start playing football until I was 12…It’s something I’ve always enjoyed, I think it’s made me a better player because it’s (a) smaller (pitch), quicker decisions (are needed), more pressure, and less time on the ball, so I think that really translates for me into football. It’s been my building block, it’s the reason I play football.
“I used to play in the F-League – which was similar to the A-League in the day, we would fly around the country playing against other cities, unfortunately that was stopped, the funding got cut from it, so to see now we now have an Australian women’s team, going to a World Cup next year, that’s definitely exciting.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s home game with a fourth placed Adelaide United side with three wins from their opening five games, Tathem knows that the Glory face a tough battle.
Their improved defensive record will come under real threat from Reds stars Fiona Worts and Emily Condon, who have netted a total of eight goals so far. The 28-year-old defender admitted: “Worts made a big name for herself a few years ago, she’s always a player to watch. She’s hard to defend, she’s agile, she wants to score goals.
“I love to play against the best players, it really tests me. We’re focusing every week on keeping those clean sheets. That’s what we want. Across our back line, we have enough experience to deal with them.”
Indeed it is – Perth now need to find their mark in front of goal – if those two things can combine then the home side could be about to move up the ladder.
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