Glory opened their 2026/27 A-League campaign by going down to a controversial 2-1 defeat against Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Saturday.
Click HERE for full match highlights.
Click HERE for Adam Griffiths’ post-match media conference.
Adam Griffiths’ side had looked on course to secure victory in Round One for the first time since 2014 when Tom Lawrence fired them in front shortly before the hour-mark.
But the Bulls levelled things up via a hotly-disputed, re-taken Ryan Fraser penalty four minutes from time and then snatched all three points moments later courtesy of a header from former Glory man Jonathan Aspropotamitis.
There was little sign of the drama to come during a largely disjointed first half in which neither side seriously threatened to break the deadlock.
Ben Gibson shot narrowly wide early on and Luke Vickery did likewise on the half-hour mark, while Sebastian Despotovski missed Glory’s best chance, but neither goalkeeper was called into action across the opening stanza.
The second half, however, provided far more in the way of action, beginning with Lawrence’s superb opening goal.
A pocket of space some 30m out from goal was all the Welshman required and he strode towards the edge of the box before slotting into the bottom corner with pinpoint accuracy.
Pieter Jacobsz then almost marked his Glory debut in style, firing narrowly wide having been picked out by fellow-substitute Sam Sutton and at that stage a hard-earned away victory appeared to be within touching distance.
The complexion of the game changed entirely in the 80th minute, however, with referee Shaun Evans and the VAR very much to the fore.
Glory midfielder Calem Nieuwenhof was penalised for handball in the box, even though he appeared to have been impeded by Bernardo Oliviera as he attempted to challenge Tatsuki Nara.
VAR nonetheless upheld the penalty decision, Ryan Fraser stepped up to take it and Matt Sutton pulled off a stunning, one-handed save to block the Scottish import’s spot-kick.
But Glory’s reprieve proved to be short-lived as VAR penalised Cher Deng for encroaching into the box, ordering a re-take which Fraser managed to convert despite Sutton again guessing right.
This time several players from both teams appeared to encroach into the box and yet bafflingly, no action was taken by the match officials.
The Glory players and staff were left seething and to rub salt into the wound, the Bulls promptly grabbed what proved to be the winner in the 89th minute.
Fraser was the architect this time, curling in a free-kick from the right which was nodded home by Aspropotamitis.
That left precious little time for Glory to muster a response and they were unable to do so as the home side held on claim all three points.
Match Details
A-League 2026/27 Season Round 1
Macarthur FC 2 (Fraser (pen) 86′, Aspropotamitis 89′) Perth Glory 1 (Lawrence 59′)
Half-time: 0-0
Campbelltown Sports Stadium
Saturday 17 October 2026
Referee: Shaun Evans
Attendance: 3441
Macarthur FC: 1. Alex ROBINSON, 3. Tatsuki NARA, 5. Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 7. Connor PAIN (10. Ryan FRASER 55′), 8. Luke VICKERY (11. Bernardo OLIVEIRA 55′), 9. Benjamin GIBSON (27. Jing REEC 77′), 16. Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS (99. Musa TOURE 64′), 17. Oliver RANDAZZO (24. Dean BOSNJAK 74′), 18. Dylan ROSE, 21. Nathan PAULL, 22. Liam ROSE, 25. Callum TALBOT
Substitutes not used: 18.Dylan ROSE, 30. Joshua LAKKIS
Yellow Cards: Liam Rose, Gibson, Bosnjak
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 1.Matt SUTTON (GK), 5.Lachie JACKSON, 7.Stefan COLAKOVSKI (3.Sam SUTTON 64′), 10.Tom LAWRENCE (C) (17.Pieter JACOBSZ, 64′), 13.Henry HORE (9.Jaiden KUCHARSKI 52′), 16.Lucas SCICLUNA, 18.Cher DENG, 24.Andriano LEBIB, 25.Sebastian DESPOTOVSKI (39.Giovanni DE ABREU 74′), 27.Will FRENEY (28.Calem NIEUWENHOF 74′), 30.Tadi KUZAMBA
Substitutes not used: 11.Sebastian KUKUCKA, 29.Daniel SOLSKY (GK)
Yellow Cards: Lebib
Red Cards: None
#ONEGlory
ALM Match Report: Glory suffer late heartbreak in controversial defeat at Macarthur
