Perth’s A-League season might have been destroyed by the club’s salary cap breach but they demonstrated their trademark resilience on Saturday with a final-round 2-1 away win over Western Sydney, despite being reduced to 10 men during the second half.
The Glory’s leading goalscorer Andy Keogh nabbed an impressive second-half winner at Pirtek Stadium after Wanderers teenage debutant Liam Youlley struck just after halftime to cancel out Jamie McClaren’s opener.
The match was delayed for 50 minutes after a torrent of hail carpeted the pitch following a heavy storm which moved across Sydney half-an-hour before kickoff.
And the stormy weather proved somewhat of a metaphor for both clubs’ respective seasons, albeit for very different reasons.
The second-last Wanderers managed just four wins in a bizarre campaign in which they also became the first A-League club to win the Asian Champions League.
The Glory will be relegated to seventh after this weekend’s final round following their high-profile salary cap infringement, even though their win over the Wanderers leaves them trailing leaders Melbourne Victory only on goal difference.
It was the second win in three matches for Perth since Football Federation Australia ruled the club would be ineligible to play in the finals.
And Glory coach Kenny Lowe hailed his players’ character after they claimed all three points, despite the 75th-minute dismissal of Denis Kramer.
“It was a good end to the season and thoroughly deserved by the players,” said Lowe.
“I think they have been absolutely magnificent throughout it all, so it is a good way to finish off.
“We now have the same number of points as Melbourne Victory who are a hell of a team so, to do that, we must be half decent.”
The Glory had the better of proceedings against a partly experimental Wanderers line-up, but it was only modest Anzac Day entertainment offered up on a slippery surface.
Perth started the stronger and could have opened the scoring when Richard Garcia’s looping header rebounded off the inside of the post.
However, the visitors were soon rewarded as McClaren notched his fifth goal in as many outings with a firm low shot, after Rostyn Griffiths had slid a pass behind the backline.
The home side eventually found their feet although Danny Vukovic’s goal was threatened only infrequently during the first half, most notably via shots from Kerem Bulut and Steve Kuzmanovski.
Following the break, Danny De Silva, in his final outing before a move to AS Roma, spooned a close-range effort over the bar in one of the misses of the season after Garcia had again hit the crossbar with a header.
Having threatened to go two goals clear, a poor lapse from the Glory then allowed the Wanderers their equaliser as an unmarked Youlley drew his side level with a low shot that took three deflections as it trickled through a crowd of legs.
Keogh, however, had the final say midway through the second half after directing an impressive first-time finish inside the far post following superb lead-up from Josh Risdon.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
What if we celebrated all of the achievements big and small, and weeded out those hell-bent on bringing down a game that is doing a hell of a lot right?
It's back, and it's better than ever. The Champions League is one of the great sporting competitions in the world, and if you want…
Mathew Leckie played a pivotal part in Melbourne City claiming an 8-nil win; playing a role in several of his team's goals.
The Mariners must deal with possibly their toughest challenge yet - Kyrgyzstan’s FK Abdysh-Ata Kant in the first leg of the semifinal.
Already four goals up before the 90-minute mark, Florian Wirtz scored to seal his hat-trick and staff couldn't keep the supporters from celebrating their…
With a certain inevitability, Manchester City are suddenly in charge of the Premier League title race. Arsenal and Liverpool both produced lethargic performances under…
