A second-half effort from Sulejman Krpic proved the difference between the two sides as Glory were edged out 1-0 by Western Sydney Wanderers in a hard-fought season-opener at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.
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A much-changed Glory side featuring seven new faces in the starting eleven and another five on the bench went toe-to-toe with the hosts throughout an evenly-contested first half which was largely devoid of clear-cut chances.
When the game did open up after the break, it was Wanderers who found a way through, Brandon Borrello and Gabriel Cleur combining to create a chance for Krpic who nodded home.
The hosts were denied a second goal ten minutes later as Liam Reddy produced a stunning, one-handed block to stop Krpic’s penalty and buoyed by that, Glory very nearly claimed a share of the spoils when Aaron McEneff’s fierce strike was kept out of the net by a fingertip save from Lawrence Thomas.
While acknowledging that his side were not at their best as an attacking force, Head Coach Ruben Zadkovich was pleased with several other aspects of the performance.
Click HERE to view his post-match media conference in full.
“I thought we lacked a bit of creativity in the front third,” he said.
“It was nice to get another game and it showed that we were definitely rusty in the combinations going forward and missed some cues and moments to get in behind.
“We didn’t take those opportunities in the front third or execute very well, but the big positive was that we competed really well and were solid defensively.
“We didn’t give too much away to them; to be honest, it was a pretty cagey game.
“We looked a little bit leggy late, but the attitude and mentality was really, really positive and we just didn’t have enough [players] perform at their peak today.
“We looked like we needed the hit-out.”
After a cagey, rather fractious opening 45 minutes, the start of the second half saw Mark Rudan’s men create two quickfire chances which Kusini Yengi and Krpic were unable to convert.
Borrello then went close for Wanderers, firing in a swerving shot which Reddy parried low to his left and moments later the Glory ‘keeper was called into action again, this time to claim a strike from Milos Ninkovic.
The red-and-blacks were not to be denied 12 minutes from time, however, as Borrello’s cross was deflected by Cleur and the ball looped up nicely for Krpic who nodded in his first goal for the club.
When Stefan Colakovski then brought fellow-substitute Remy Najjarine down in the box, only Reddy’s heroics prevented Krpic from grabbing his and Wanderers’ second of the game.
To their credit, however, Glory pushed right to the death and would have secured a point had Thomas not managed to get his right glove on to McEneff’s goalbound stoppage-time strike.
Match Details
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Krpic 78′) Perth Glory 0
Half-time: 0-0
CommBank Stadium
Referee: Kurt Ams
Western Sydney Wanderers: 20.Lawrence THOMAS (GK), 2.Gabriel CLEUR, 3.Adama TRAORE, 5.Tomislav MRCELA, 6.Marcelo GUEDES, 9.Kusini YENGI (7.Ramy NAJJARINE 74′), 10.Milos NINKOVIC (21.Jarrod CARLUCCIO 87′), 11.Sulejman KRPIC, 17.Romain AMALFITANO, 26.Brandon BORRELLO, 28.Calem NIEUWENHOF
Substitutes not used: 12.Ruon TONGYIK, 33.Alexander BONETIG, 35.Zachary SAPSFORD, 37.Alexander BADOLATO, 1.Daneil MARGUSH (GK)
Yellow Cards: Amalfitano, Cleur
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 33.Liam REDDY (GK), 2.John KOUTROUMBIS, 5.Mark BEEVERS, 6.Aaron MCENEFF, 7.Ryan WILLIAMS (77.Stefan COLAKOVSKI 73′), 8.Mustafa AMINI (C) (23.Mitch OXBORROW 63′), 9.Bruno FORNAROLI (12.Luke IVANOVIC 73′), 10.Salim KHELIFI (18.David WILLIAMS 63′), 14.Jack CLISBY, 19.Zach DUNCAN (25.Matt HATCH 63′), 29.Darryl LACHMAN
Substitutes not used: 36.Joseph FORDE, 30.Pierece CLARK (GK)
Yellow Cards: Lachman, Amini, Duncan, Khelifi, Ryan Williams
Red Cards: None
#ONEGlory
