In all honesty, the attempts to manufacture a ‘Desert Derby’ rivalry between ourselves and Adelaide United were never likely to succeed, but we do have more than a little bit of history with our friends from (a long way) across the border.
There’s the 2014 Westfield FFA Cup Final defeat for starters.
We weren’t overly happy about the game being played at Coopers Stadium rather than nib to start with and then just didn’t quite hit our straps on the night, with Josh Risdon’s second-half red card certainly not helping the cause.
But that’s not to say that we haven’t enjoyed some memorable victories over the Reds, notably in Round 19 of last season when we ran riot in the South Australian capital.
Diego Castro bagged a brace and Andy Keogh and Adam Taggart also both found the net after Iacopo La Rocca had kindly set us on our way with an early own-goal and plenty of home fans had headed for the exits long before our 5-0 triumph was confirmed.
We took a total of seven points off United last term, having claimed only three the season before when Guyon Fernandez (remember him?!) scored what proved to be his only goal for the club in a 3-1 win here in the West.
Memories can, of course, be a little hazy, as illustrated by the fact that Nigel Boogaard did not actually get sent off every single time we played the Reds during his stint by the club.
He did pick up one red card against us, in October 2013, with his other dismissals in games involving Glory coming during his time with Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets.
But why let the truth get in the way of an enjoyable story?
What is entirely factual is that Jacob Burns loved playing against the South Australians, with all three of his Glory goals being scored at what was then known as Hindmarsh Stadium.
If you’re having a slow day at work, it’s worth checking out his two fine efforts from January 2010 on YouTube, with the sweetness of both strikes undoubtedly enhanced by the sheer depth of the nets used at Hindmarsh back in the day.
Coming right up to date, we have several other players who also enjoy facing Adelaide, notably Castro who has scored four goals in his six appearances against them.
Skipper Andy Keogh, meanwhile, has managed three in seven, while Liam Reddy clearly finds the Reds more than a little irritating given that he has been booked four times while playing against them.
So although our clashes with the Reds are never likely to invoke quite the same passions as Celtic – Rangers, Arsenal – Spurs or even the Jets versus the Mariners, they are fixtures that rarely disappoint in terms of drama, controversy and excitement.
And Saturday night’s clash at nib promises more of the same.
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