Central Coast coach Nick Montgomery was surprised Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was allowed to face the Mariners after throwing flares during the Melbourne derby.
Glover threw two flares before the pitch invasion that resulted in the abandonment of the December 17 A-League Men clash with Melbourne Victory, including one that went back into the Victory active support area.
He was cleared to play Central Coast after recovering from concussion and a facial laceration suffered when he was hit by a metal bucket wielded by a pitch invader when Victory fans stormed the AAMI Park surface.
Glover did not face a suspension from Football Australia for throwing flares as an independent match review panel determined they didn’t have jurisdiction to assess the incident, as it was considered dealt with by match officials on the night.
Montgomery was bemused to see the former Olyroos custodian between the sticks in City’s 1-0 win over his charges at AAMI Park on Tuesday night, including making an important late save to deny Michael Ruhs.
“How he’s playing I’ll never know. I don’t think anyone expected him to play today after what happened last week. But he did and he pulled off a great save and he saves them two points,” Montgomery told reporters.
“Throwing a firework (flare) back in a crowd of people. I think all the talk after was that he would be suspended, and I actually thought he would be.
“I don’t want people suspended but, again, he’s a good keeper and he’s saved them two points tonight.
“Not saying I don’t want people to play but concussion and throwing a firework?
“But I like Tommy, he’s a great kid. But I told him after, I had a laugh with him after, and said ‘you must be the only person who can throw a firework and not get suspended’.”
City interim coach Rado Vidosic said the club didn’t believe Glover had deserved a suspension.
“In those situations, you never know what’s going to happen,” he told reporters.
“But we don’t believe that he did anything wrong and the decision is correct.”
Vidosic praised Glover’s response to his traumatising derby experience.
“He probably got more counseling from the club than anyone else because he was impacted more than anyone else,” he said.
“But he was excellent throughout the week. He was always with the players and he only trained the last few days with the group.
“But I think he was excellent today. Spotless, perfect, clean sheet for him – and he loved that.”
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.
Despite the short nature of his tenure as a professional manager, Arne Slot has established himself as arguably the most impressive manager outside of…
Everton won the Merseyside derby 2-0, with Toffees supporters taunting Liverpool after the game at their home ground Goodison Park.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have blasted a hole in Liverpool's Premier League title challenge as Everton powered their way to a priceless derby…
The real concern comes down to football's growing trend of big corporations taking up slices of the world game at the expense of smaller teams.
Round 25 was a weekend of football that had plenty of action. There were five games due to the Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide…
Arsenal fans were outraged that Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson got off scot-free for this challenge in the Gunners' 5-0 win.
