Perth Glory 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers: Glory, Glory in the West

Round 6 of Hyundai A-League action this weekend saw a winless Western Sydney Wanderers side face table-toppers Perth Glory at NIB Stadium. After a back-and-forth physical 90 minutes of football it is the Glory who have reclaimed first place in the league after running out 2-1 winners in front of 12,166 supporters. Dino Djulbic and Scott Jamieson claimed the goals and, despite the Wanderers literally clawing one back through Jaushua Sotirio, it proved nothing but a mere consolation as the Glory deservedly held on for all three points.

Tony Popovic travelled to Western Australia with yet another rotated line-up featuring eight changes to the team that went down to the Phoenix last weekend. Kenny Lowe decided to make just two changes to his side following on from their FFA Cup semi-final heroics and from the first whistle the intentions from both sides to gain the upper hand was instantly evident.

With just six minutes gone the first real chance came by way of the visitors. Poor structure from the Glory defence left Michael Thwaite in dire straits to try stop a surging Labinot Haliti and co. on the counter attack. As the ball was fed left to Alusine Fofanah, the 16 year old then squared it back across to Haliti, who’s effort was well parried by Danny Vukovic.

This early sight on goal seemed to have sparked the Perth players into life. After a succession of attacking forays lead to a Glory corner, a Dino Djulbic header sent the hosts ahead with just under ten minutes of the clock.

The Glory could so easily have gone two up in the space of a few minutes as Richard Garcia’s low drive skidded just wide of Wanderers debutant Dean Bouzanis’ far post.

But again it was Western Sydney who then saw themselves frustratingly denied of levelling the game. A well worked move from the Wanderers in, around and inside the opponents’ 18-yard area saw Jason Trifiro put through on goal by Haliti. Unfortunately for the former Winston Hills junior, Trifiro’s shot was expertly blocked thanks to the outstretched leg of the ever-impressive Vukovic.

This save almost lead to the Glory snatching a second once more on their own counter attack. This time it was former Wanderer Youssouf Hersi who’s driven attempt whizzed along the ground and past the outside of the post. Moments later and the Ethiopian-Dutch winger could have doubled the advantage yet again, this time with a header that drifted just high of the Bouzanis goal.

It seemed that with each possession came a near-goalscoring opportunity. The tempo with which this game was being played left players with little time on the ball. While the Wanderers found it difficult to sometimes make the most of their time with in possession, as well as from set-piece opportunities afforded to them, the Glory had no problems in fashioning chance after chance. Their ability to shift from defence to attack in a mater mere seconds left the visitors desperately lunging to avoid the deficit from being doubled.

Despite the scoreline staying at 1-0 the second half resumed in a similar matter to the first as Perth continued their dominance with the ball. Nebojsa Marinkovic and Dino Djulbic combined once more as the Serbian’s long-range free-kick was met by his seemingly unmarked teammate. Fortunately for the Wanderers, the execution was lacking and the ball bounced wide.

Vitor Saba was introduced in the 54th minute in order to introduce some attacking initiative back into the newly crowned Asian champions. This substitution saw the away side begin to press with a purpose and not long later did Sotirio nearly thump his side back into the contest. The young attacker’s run to the back post was met with the ball after a delightful delivery from Antony Golec and, after displaying superb technique to volley the ball first time, his effort crashed into the side-netting.

Despite the introduction of former Glory-man Nikita Rukavytsya, coupled with the majority of efforts testing the home side, Western Sydney were unable to find their breakthrough.

To the delight of the home faithful the three points were all but wrapped up in the 77th minute as an exquisite Scott Jamieson free-kick curled away from the diving Dean Bouzanis and into the bottom corner. The Asian Champions League winners now resembled wooden spoon occupants as heads dropped and defeat acknowledged.

While the home supporters teased and mocked the travelling contingent with their own Poznan, Western Sydney were able to respond, albeit in a scrappy manner with just five minutes from time. A Vitor Saba free-kick was met by the body of Sotirio who was able to get to the ball before the oncoming Vukovic. As a result the ball slowly dribbled into the back of the net.

Regardless of the consolation the Perth Glory deserved all three points as they confidently held on for the 2-1 victory. The win means Kenny Lowe’s men return to the summit of the table leapfrogging Sydney, Melbourne Victory, and Adelaide in the process. For Tony Popovic, it continues to go from bad to worse. The loss condemns the red and blacks to their 4th loss: rooting them to last place. Regardless of what lies in store, the Perth Glory have deservedly ran out winners. It’s glory, glory in the West.

 

Perth Glory 2 (Djulbic 9′, Jamieson 77′) defeated Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Sotirio 85′)

Attendance: 12,166

FTS Man of the Match: Rostyn Griffiths

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