Glory were left frustrated for a second week in succession as Craig Goodwin’s first-half goal secured a 1-0 victory for Adelaide United at HBF Park on Saturday evening.
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The Socceroos midfielder fired home from the edge of the box with 12 minutes on the clock, before having a penalty brilliantly saved by Matt Sutton and yet it was Glory who were firmly in the ascendancy for over an hour of the contest.
Tom Lawrence twice went close to claiming his first home goal for the club and Brian Kaltak headed wide when well placed, but in a carbon copy of last week’s game against Sydney FC, the men in purple were ultimately unable to translate their concerted pressure into goals.
To their credit, Adelaide defended resolutely and were forced to dig even deeper in the latter stages after substitute Panashe Madanha was shown a straight red for a stomach-high lunge on Charbel Shamoon.
On a mild night in the west, it was Adelaide who made the faster start and Goodwin had already sent a warning shot across Glory’s bows from a similar position when he tried his luck again and this time found the bottom corner.
Glory came close to restoring parity almost immediately, but Joshua Smits reacted quickly to make a sharp save after Ryan Kitto almost diverted a Tom Lawrence cross into his own net.
Lawrence went close himself shortly after the half-hour mark, firing in a low shot which flew just wide and the hosts then had a penalty appeal waved away when Arion Sulemani, making his starting debut, looked to have been pulled down in the box.
Referee Sam Kelly showed no hesitation in awarding a penalty at the other end in the shadows of half-time, however.
Yaya Dukuly turned on the after-burners to outstrip the home defence and his run on goal was eventually halted when he tumbled over a despairing challenge from Sutton.
VAR upheld the decision, but although Goodwin got plenty of power on his spot-kick, Sutton made a spectacular save with his outstretched boot to earn Glory a much-needed reprieve.
Clearly buoyed by Sutton’s brilliance, Adam Griffiths’ side immediately got on the front foot at the start of the second half and a thunderous strike from Lawrence drew a fine parry from Smits.
Shamoon was then unable to hit the target when the ball fell kindly for him in a crowded box and Dukuly almost scored a spectacular own-goal when he volleyed a Sam Sutton cross just over the bar.
Madanha’s red card with eight minutes of normal time remaining prompted Glory to redouble their efforts and they came agonisingly close to grabbing the goal their pressure deserved through Kaltak.
Lawrence’s clever pass was driven back across the face of goal by Pennington and it seemed that any touch from Kaltak at the far post would force it over the line, but the defender was unable to apply the finish and as the ball drifted wide, Glory’s hopes of salvaging something from the game went with it.
Match Details
Isuzu UTE A-League 2025/26 Season Round 9
Perth Glory 0 Adelaide United 1 (Goodwin 12′)
Half-time: 0-1
HBF Park
Saturday 20 December 2025
Referee: Sam Kelly
Attendance: 6678
Perth Glory: 29.Matt SUTTON (gk), 2.Charbel SHAMOON, 3.Sam SUTTON (19.Josh RISDON 84′), 4.Scott WOOTTON (co-c), 7.Nicholas PENNINGTON, 8.Callum TIMMINS (39.Giovanni DE ABREU 60′), 17.Arion SULEMANI (21.Adam BUGARIJA 74′), 20.Trent OSTLER (26.Khoa NGO 59′), 27.Will FRENEY (16.Gabriel POPOVIC 84′), 34.Tom LAWRENCE, 45.Brian KALTAK
Substitutes not used: 5.Riley FOXE, 40.Ryan WARNER (gk)
Yellow Cards: M. Sutton, Lawrence, Risdon, Wootton
Red Cards: None
Adelaide United: 22.Joshua SMITS (gk), 4.Panagiotis KIKIANIS, 7.Ryan KITTO, 9.Luka JOVANOVIĆ (74.Amlani TATU 73′) (62.Fabian TALLADIRA 90+2′), 11.Craig GOODWIN (36.Panashe MADANHA 73′), 14.Jay BARNETT, 19.Yaya DUKULY, 20.Dylan PIEIRAS (71.Vinko STANISIC 64′), 44.Ryan WHITE, 55.Ethan ALAGICH, 87. Anselmo DE MORAES (23.Luke DUZEL 46′)
Substitutes not used: 10.Juan MUÑIZ, 40.Ethan COX, (gk)
Yellow Cards: Alagich
Red Cards: Madanha
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