Tom Lawrence scored his first A-League goal and Nicholas Pennington fired home from the penalty spot as Glory came from behind to secure maximum points for the first time this season courtesy of a 2-1 win over Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium.
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The men in purple had been winless in the Hunter Valley since December 2018 and that barren run looked set to continue when Xavier Bertoncello fired the Jets ahead 15 minutes in.
But Lawrence proceeded to cap off a rapid break with a crisp finish shortly before the break and substitute Pennington grabbed what proved to be the winner 11 minutes from time, converting from the spot after Daniel Wilmering had been penalised for handball.
The tone for what turned out to be a helter-skelter first half was set inside the opening five minutes as both sides showed a willingness to commit numbers forward at the risk of leaving gaps at the back.
And it was Newcastle who were the first to be rewarded for their adventure as Glory surrendered possession cheaply in their own half, allowing Alex Badolato to feed Bertoncello who rifled past Matt Sutton.
Sutton then had to be alert to prevent Bertoncello from grabbing his and Newcastle’s second, saving well to his left, before Brian Kaltak made two key interventions.
His first came in the form of a sliding block to prevent Lachlan Rose from sliding the ball into an empty net after he had rounded Sutton and from the resulting corner, the former Central Coast man headed off the line.
While finding the Jets tricky to deal with defensively, Adam Griffiths’ side were still managing to pose a threat going forward and seven minutes before the break they managed to restore parity.
Rhys Bozinovski was the architect, picking off an errant pass from Max Dobson and driving downfield before finding Lawrence who calmly beat James Delaniov, sparking joyous scenes in the away bay.
The pace in the second half was not quite as frenetic as it had been in the first, but Sutton was still called upon to make two important saves as he kept out a deflected shot from Will Dobson with his chest and then claimed Ben Gibson’s effort at the second attempt.
The real drama, however, was set to come at the other end as Seb Despotovski’s header from a deep cross struck the back of Wilmering’s outstretched arm.
The decision looked harsh on the luckless defender, but it was upheld by VAR and substitute Pennington nervelessly smashed the resulting spot-kick into the top corner.
A stung home side poured forward in search of a late leveller and yet it was Glory who came closest to grabbing the game’s fourth goal as substitute Adam Taggart sent a 22m strike thumping against the bar.
Some backs-to-the-wall defending was required from the visitors to keep the Jets at bay during a seemingly endless seven minutes of stoppage-time, but keep them at bay they did to earn a much-needed three points.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2025/26 Season Round 5
Newcastle Jets 1 (Bertoncello 15′) Perth Glory 2 (Lawrence 38′, Pennington (pen) 79′)
Half-time: 1-1
McDonald Jones Stadium
Sunday 23 November 2025
Referee: Nathan Shakespear
Newcastle Jets: 1. James DELIANOV, 9. Lachlan ROSE (11. Ben GIBSON 67′), 14. Max BURGESS, 15. Aleksandar ŠUŠNJAR, 17. Kosta GROZOS, 19. Alex BADOLATO (8. Lachlan BAYLISS 83′), 22. Joel BERTOLISSIO (39. Thomas AQUILINA, 83′), 23. Daniel WILMERING, 28. Will DOBSON (24. Alex NUNES 82′), 42. Max COOPER, 43. Xavier BERTONCELLO (13.Clayton TAYLOR 54′)
Substitutes not used: 20. Alex NASSIEP (gk), 33. Mark NATTA
Yellow Cards: Badolato
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 29.Matt SUTTON (gk), 2.Charbel SHAMOON, 4.Scott WOOTTON (co-c), 8.Callum TIMMINS (27.Will FRENEY 46′), 9.Jaiden KUCHARSKI (5.Riley FOXE 90+6′), 11.Lachlan WALES (7.Nicholas PENNINGTON 74′), 18.Rhys BOZINOVSKI, 24.Andriano LEBIB (20.Trent OSTLER 53′), 25.Sebastian DESPOTOVSKI, 34.Tom LAWRENCE (22.Adam TAGGART 53′), 45.Brian KALTAK
Substitutes not used: 21.Adam BUGARIJA, 40.Ryan WARNER (gk)
Yellow Cards: Timmins, Despotovski, Bozinovski, Lawrence, Sutton, Wootton
Red Cards: None
#ONEGlory
ALM Match Wrap: Glory come from behind to secure vital first win
