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Perth would be delighted to win their sixth game from seven. Not a sparkling performance but they did what they had to especially after going up so early.
Marinkovic was the stand out for me, maybe not as much possession as others but showed more polish than anyone else on the field.
Hersi played well again and Keohg worked hard up forward. The Glory defence did an excellent job containing Burns until the end but were helped by poor build up from Wellington.
FINAL SCORE:
Perth Glory 2
Wellington Phoenix 1
League leaders Perth Glory will look to extend their unbeaten record at home this season when they take on Wellington Phoenix at nib Stadium on Friday night. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 9:45pm (AEDT).
The clash features two teams who have surprised this season with their good performances.
Most people would have predicted the Glory to finish bottom three this season but some excellent off-season additions have seen them get the season off to a flyer, with five wins from six games.
Last season’s signing Nebojsa Marinkovic has been a human highlight reel with some stunning goals and leads the league in creating chances this season.
The Glory are coming off an impressive 2-1 victory over the winless Western Sydney Wanderers, who admittedly had several players rested or away on international duty. The Glory exploited the Wanderers’ inexperienced line up and pressed high, forcing the Wanderers defenders to turn the ball over.
New Glory recruit and former Wanderer Youssouf Hersi played his best game for his new club, dominating on the right and creating numerous chances, ably supported by Joshua Risdon.
Goalkeeper Danny Vukovic was also good, with two terrific saves against Wanderers Labinot Haliti and Jason Trifiro.
Mid-table Phoenix have also surprised this season, although they have been inconsistent with three wins and three losses.
New signings Nathan Burns and Michael McGlinchey have added pace to the attack and Roly Bonevacia has been a stand-out with his creative midfield play, scoring his first goal for the club last week in their 2-1 loss against Adelaide.
Adelaide dominated possession and had a staggering 495 passes to the Phoenix’s 217. Adelaide tried to exploit the Phoenix full backs with most of their attacks launched from the wings, the pace of Sergio Cirio and Mabil proving too much in the end as the Phoenix conceded a late goal deep into stoppage time.
Their form previous to last week’s game had been good winning three out of four games including an away victory against the Mariners. However that has been their only road win from their last seven.
Prediction
These two met in the opening game of the season, when Perth won 2-1 thanks to two defensive errors by Phoenix defenders and a late strike by the Glory’s Jamie McLaren.
Perth are the form side of the competition and have turned their home ground into a fortress this season. They should prevail in the end but it won’t be easy against a competitive Phoenix who will welcome back McGlinchey and Jeremy Brockie.
Perth to win 2-1.
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