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Perth Glory have ended the season on a high with a win against the Western Sydney Wanderers at Pirtek Stadium on Saturday Afternoon.
PERTH 2
WESTERN SYDNEY 1
A winner 25 minutes from full time from Andy Keogh was enough for the Glory to end a nightmare season on a high.
For a moment before the match though the game looked unlikely to start.
Sydney was inundated with a strong weather front right before kick-off which unleashed lightning, hail, and rain, to most of the capital.
Pirtek Stadum copped mother nature at her finest and covered the stadium in hail stones.
As a result the organisers had no other option but to delay the game for 50 minutes and start the game at 5:45pm AEST.
When it got started, Perth made the perfect start, by scoring in the first twenty minutes.
After naming a full strength squad for the clash they were rewarded in the 17th minute through Jamie MacLaren.
MacLaren, who scored a hat-trick against City last week, got a great through ball from Dino Djulbic which allowed the striker to get into the box.
With space inside the box, MacLaren would shoot for goal, and get it just past Bouzanis in goals for the lead.
They would hold onto the lead past half time and hold out a youthful Wanderers team who dominated possession.
In the second half the possession domination translated into a goal as the Wanderers equalised.
After winning a freekick near the box, the Wanderers passed to Liam Youlley, who had a shot for goal from outside of the box.
It wasn’t powerful but it went past everyone, including the goalkeeper, for a goal.
In his debut match, and his first start, it was a nice way to cap off an impressive opening match.
Unfortunately for the Wanderers they couldn’t hold onto their lead.
13 minutes after Youlley scored, Keogh would put the Glory back in front.
Against the run of play, after the Wanderers took control of the game, Keogh would get a lovely pass inside the box.
He would pick his place to shoot and produce a great left footed shot which would go past Bouzanis for a goal.
Perth would hold out for the remaining 25 minutes to win the game but they didn’t have smooth sailing along the way.
15 minutes before the end Denis Kramar got a second yellow card and was sent off for the Glory.
Despite attempts from the Wanderers, including a last minute strike from Steve Kuzmanovski which got a deflection, the Glory would hold on for their 14th win of the season.
If they did not get penalised for the salary cap they could have finished 2nd if results went their way.
Now they finish 7th and must now re-group, get under the salary cap, and build again for 2015/16.
They have the team to be successful.
For the Wanderers the season is almost finished.
They have one more match in the Asian Champions League and must beat Guangzhou and rely on a draw between Kashima and FC Seoul to progress.
The Wanderers will look at the A-League season as a failure and build towards 2015/16 and a tilt at a coveted title.
After a nightmare season for both teams Perth Glory and Western Sydney Wanderers will want a final-round win at Pirtek Stadium. Join The Roar for live coverage of the match from 5pm (AEST).
After winning the Asian Champions League, the Wanderers have struggled to replicate their results in the A-League from the last two years, when they were grand finalists.
A combination of fatigue, poor form, and the Asian Champions League hurt the Wanderers dearly, as they won just three points in their first 10 matches.
Meanwhile, what promised to be a good season for the Glory ended with the salary cap scandal eliminating them from the finals.
They also lost to Adelaide United in the FFA Cup final late last year. In another year they could have ended the season with two or three trophies, but now they are playing for pride.
To their credit, the players are looking continuing the good work done for the first three quarters of the year.
Perth have good form over Western Sydney, having beaten the Wanderers twice this season, although prior to that it was five wins and a draw to the Wanderers.
Rostyn Griffiths, Nebojsa Marinkovic and Scott Jamieson have all been promoted to the team for Perth, with Jacob Collard the only player out.
The Wanderers have included Nick Kalmar, Iacopo La Rocca and Nikolai Topor-Stanley for the match, while Romeo Castelen is out injured.
Based on form, and ladder position, Perth are the favourites for the match. How they turn up for the match will be the determining factor.
The Wanderers, who are fighting for their life in the Asian Champions League, will be looking to keep match fit heading into their final clash.
Expect plenty of goals in an open contest to finish the season.
#WinterWanderland pic.twitter.com/vEdDMJspiE
— Pirtek Stadium (@PirtekStadium) April 25, 2015
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