Glory were unable to recover from a first-half blitz as they went down 3-0 to Melbourne Victory in Sunday’s ALW Round 5 clash at Home of the Matildas.
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An electrical storm delayed kick-off in Bundoora, the third successive Glory away game to be impacted by the weather and once play did get underway, the hosts wasted no time in taking control.
Kennedy White, the competition’s leading scorer, bagged the opener, before former Glory midfielder Sofia Sakalis added the second just after the half-hour and Rhianna Pollicina further extended her side’s lead on the cusp of half time.
Stephen Peters’ side did at least manage to prevent Victory from adding further gloss to the scoreline in the second half, but in the absence of injured key midfielders Izzy Dalton and Emma Tovar, were ultimately unable to trouble last season’s runners-up.
Glory’s hopes of ending a winless run against the navy-and-whites dating back to 2022 rarely looked like coming to fruition once Victory hit the front midway through the first half.
Pollicina had already gone close before Zoe McMeeken cut the ball back to the top of the box and White picked out the top corner with a first-time strike to claim her fifth goal of the season.
The visitors were then almost gifted an immediate equaliser as Victory ‘keeper Courtney Newbon spilled the ball at Rola Badawiya’s feet, but the angle was against the American striker and her effort clipped the near post before just eluding Ella Lincoln as it flashed across the face of goal.
That was as good as it got for Glory in the opening 45 as Holly Furphy dispossessed Tijan McKenna down the right and drove in a low cross which was forced home by Sakalis.
And shortly before the break, 2-0 became 3-0 when Pollicina’s deflected shot flew past a wrong-footed Alyssa Dall’Oste and into the net.
Glory did their best to regain a foothold in the game following the restart, with Lincoln keeping the home defence honest with a lively performance down the left, but it was Victory who continued to look the more dangerous.
Furphy drew an alert stop from Dall’Oste after turning neatly in a crowded box and firing in a low shot and the Glory ‘keeper was then called into action again, this time to paw away a half-volley from Rachel Lowe.
Another Dall’Oste save prevented White from claiming her second and Victory’s fourth 15 minutes from the end and although Glory continued to battle away to the final whistle, they were unable to salvage anything from another tough road trip.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2025/26 Season Round 5
Melbourne Victory 3 (White 21′, Sakalis 36′, Pollicina 42′) Perth Glory 0
Half-time: 3-0
Home of the Matildas
Sunday 30 November 2025
Referee: Mikayla Ryan
Melbourne Victory: 1.Courtney NEWBON (gk), 5. Sofia SAKALIS, 9. Holly FURPHY (7. Ella O’GRADY 77′), 10. Rhianna POLLICINA (41. Jessica YOUNG 85′), 14. Fiorina, IARIA, 16. Kennedy WHITE, 18. Kayla MORRISON (c), 19. Zoe McMEEKEN, 23. Rachel LOWE, 24. Laura PICKETT, 66. Alana JANCEVSKI, 81. Grace MAHER ( 6. Taylor RAY 72′)
Substitutes not used: 27. Rosie CURTIS, 28.Sienna TECHERA, 30. Payton WOODWARD (gk)
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 33.Alyssa DALL’OSTE (gk), 5.Grace JOHNSTON, 6.Tijan MCKENNA (28.Clancy WESTAWAY 81′), 9.Gabby HOLLAR (12.Bronte TREW 59′), 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM (22.Ischia BROOKING 81′), 13.Naomi CHINNAMA, 17.Rola BADAWIYA (c), 24.Julia SARDO, 25.Ella LINCOLN, 27.Charli WAINWRIGHT (8.Georgia CASSIDY 59′), 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG
Substitutes not used: 30.Jessica SKINNER (gk)
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
#ONEGlory
ALW Match Wrap: First-half Victory blitz proves too much for Glory
