Glory remain four points clear at the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder following a tense and hard-fought 0-0 draw with Melbourne City at AAMI Park.
The incredibly high workrate of both sides was the overriding characteristic of a game in which clear-cut goalscoring opportunities were very much at a premium.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268486001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5991407771001
Both sides did close to winning it in the final ten minutes, however, Eugene Galekovic using his feet to foil Andy Keogh in a one-on-one situation before home skipper Scott Jamieson clipped the crossbar with a cross-shot at the other end.
The stalemate marked the first time that Glory have failed to score since their Round 15 defeat at the hands of the same opponents last season, but Tony Popovic’s men remain unbeaten on their travels this term and have also now gone five games without defeat against City at AAMI Park.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268486001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5991410096001
Space and time were hard to find during the first half as both sides applied an intense high-press, with Galekovic’s regulation save from Neil Kilkenny’s 20m-strike the only notable goalmouth action of the first 15 minutes.
Jason Davidson was next to try his luck, fizzing a left-foot effort narrowly wide after the City defence had only manged to half-clear a Kilkenny corner.
The hosts also created one or two opportunities before the break, notably when Ritchie De Laet’s persistence enabled him to tee up Florin Berenguer-Bohrer, only for the Frenchman to completely scuff his close-range effort.
The start of the second half was similarly cagey, although Glory did go close just before the hour-mark when Kilkenny’s sublime through-ball sent Keogh in on goal, but Harrison Delbridge’s perfectly-timed challenge nicked the ball away just as the Irishman was about to pull the trigger.
Most of the drama was packed into the final ten minutes as Keogh was again played in, this time by Castro and only an unorthodox save from the alert Galekovic kept Glory’s number nine from bagging his ninth goal of the season.
Seconds later, Jamieson’s cross from the left turned into City’s best chance of the night as it struck the bar before rebounding away.
The men in purple have, of course, made a habit of scoring late goals this season, but despite ending the contest on the front foot, they were just unable to find a way through a resolute home rearguard.
Match Details
Melbourne City 0 Perth Glory 0
Half-time: 0-0
Referee: Shaun Evans
Melbourne City: 18.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Ritchie De LAET, 3.Scott JAMIESON (c), 4.Harrison DELBRIDGE, 5.Bart SCHENKEVELD, 7.Rostyn GRIFFITHS (25.Iacopo LA ROCCA 76′), 13.Nathaniel ATKINSON (26.Luke BRATTAN 46′), 15.Kearyn BACCUS, 19.Lachlan WALES, 22.Curtis GOOD, 27.Florin BERENGUER-BOHRER (8.Riley MCGREE 61′)
Substitutes not used: 36.Dylan PIERIAS, 42.James DELIANOV
Yellow cards: Jamieson, Delbridge, Baccus
Red cards: Nil
Perth Glory: 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jason DAVIDSON, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Ivan FRANJIC (23.Scott NEVILLE 69′), 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE (11.Brendon SANTALAB 74′), 9.Andy KEOGH, 13.Matthew SPIRANOVIC, 17.Diego CASTRO (20.Jake BRIMMER 90+5′), 27.JUANDE, 88.Neil KILKENNY
Substitutes not used: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 22.Fabio FERREIRA
Yellow cards: Santalab
Red cards: Nil
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