The 2003-2004 season does, of course, retain a special significance for many Glory fans.
The biblical downpour at Parramatta and Nik Mrdja’s dramatic ‘Golden Goal’ sealing a second successive NSL Grand Final victory are tightly woven into the very fabric of the club.
But there were also significant developments that year here in Perth, notably the transformation of Perth Oval into Members Equity Stadium.
A combination of the State Government and the Town of Vincent got the job done and after returning from a two-game sojourn to Arena Joondalup, Glory took to their newly-renovated home like a duck to water.
Curiously, Mich d’Avray’s men actually played six games at the ground before it was officially opened as Members Equity Stadium on 7th February 2004 and won every one of them, scoring 21 times and conceding just four in the process.
And they continued that impressive form at the expense of Wollongong Wolves in the match that we’re focusing this week.
Penny Hoath, of The World Football Programme 107.9FM fame, was good enough to drop a bundle of old Glory matchday programmes into the club offices last week, including this Round 23 edition.
Tucked inside was the official team sheet (pictured below) featuring an array of out-and-out club legends and there were more delightful little nuggets to be found within the pages of the programme itself.
News of the Australia Under-23s securing their place at the 2004 Athens Olympics via a two-legged victory over New Zealand included the likes of Jade North and David Tarka impressing in green and gold and future Glory striker Shane Smeltz finding the net in vain for the Kiwis.
And the Wolves line-up included a couple of other men who would go on to don the famous purple in the form of Stuart Young and Adam Hughes.
Disappointingly, though ,there was no sign of the regular ‘Cruising with Vince’ feature in which goalkeeper Vince Matassa discussed the latest music releases. But we’ll come back to that another day…
In the meantime, we’d love to hear your memories of this game which, in case your mind needs refreshing, Glory won 2-0 courtesy of a goal apiece from the deadly duo of Bobby Despotovski and Damian Mori.
And if you also fancy sharing your recollections of this gloriously triumphant season as a whole, why not join the conversation on Twitter or via our Facebook page?
#CREATEDESTINY
