Glory fell agonisingly short in their final game of the Foxtel Y-League season, going down 1-0 to Melbourne City at Dorrien Gardens on Sunday.
It took until the 80th minute for the deadlock to be broken when City’s Emile Peios netted a late winner for the visitors.
Despite the mercury pushing 35C, both teams shrugged off the conditions to play out an enthralling match that delivered plenty of scoring opportunities.
City’s Raphael Borges Rodrigues had the best chance of the first half when he went one-on-one with Glory goalkeeper Jackson Lee in the 11th minute, but the young shot-stopper was up to the task and blocked the attempt with his outstretched body.
Glory midfielder Jayden Leader then threatened at the other end with a long-range strike which just sailed over the crossbar.
During a series of goalmouth scrambles, meanwhile, Alessandro Circati, Mason Tatafu and Joshua Samson all produced dramatic goal-line clearances for the home side.
And Glory duo Giordano Colli and Charlie Leech both had chances to score during the second half, but their dangerous strikes from outside the box failed to hit the target.
Despite the unfortunate loss, Glory Head Coach Richard Garcia was pleased with the effort shown by his charges.
“It was another very good performance by the boys,” he said. “A little bit more concentration in both boxes is the key.
“We played some very good stuff, dominated the game in large patches and then controlled them without the ball as well, which is very encouraging.
“The mentality today I thought was fantastic because of the heat and they kept pushing themselves.
“At the moment our build-up is good, we’re getting into those areas quite easily and we’re defending quite well outside. It’s just inside where we need to be a little bit better.”
Glory finished the Foxtel Y-League campaign without a win, but Garcia said there were plenty of positive take-outs, including the improvement shown by the team in the latter rounds.
“This is a young group, but we won’t have many departures, if any, from this group,” he said.
“Hopefully they can build over the next year in NPL and then come back another year wiser, another year smarter, with the experience that they need.
“Hopefully they can grow together and in two to three years’ time they’re hitting their straps and we’ve got a whole load of guys that could possibly make their way into the senior team.”
On Friday evening, meanwhile, a Glory team with an average age of just 16 secured a highly-creditable 0-0 draw with Sorrento in their first game of the 2020 NPL Night Series at Percy Doyle Reserve.
Match Details
Perth Glory 0 Melbourne City 1 (Emile Peios 80’)
Dorrien Gardens
Referee: Adrien Liechti
Assistants: Harry Bolan, Adam Hicks
Fourth Official: Lawson Rimmer
Perth Glory: 1. Jackson LEE (C, GK), 2. Alessandro CIRCATI, 4. Nicholas McDONALD, 5. Mason TATAFU, 6. Jayden LEADER, 7. Joshua RAWLINS (16. Fraser DUNLOP 49’), 8. Bryce BAFFORD, 9. Ciaran BRAMWELL (13. Joshua SAMSON 72’), 10. Giordano COLLI, 11. Charlie LEECH, 15. Nicholas WALSH
Substitutes not used: 12. Joshua LANGDON (GK), 17. Albert FULLARD
Yellow cards: Alessandro Circati 8’, Nicholas Walsh 90’
Red cards: None
Melbourne City: 35. Raphael BORGES RODRIGUES, 37. Gianluca IANNUCCI (52. Samuel MORRISON 46’), 38. Yaya DUKULY (49. Lucas BYRNS 46’), 39. Idrus ABDULAHI (48. Luke ORESTI 65’), 41. Mitchell GRAHAM (C), 42. Liam KENNEDY (GK), 47. Emile PEIOS, 50. Jordan BOS, 51. Akok AROK, 54. Jordi VALADON, 55. Harry POLITIDIS
Substitutes not used: 46. Callum ROLFE (GK)
Yellow cards: Raphael Borges Rodrigues 90+6′
Red cards: None
#OneGlory
Picture courtesy of Tom McCarthy
