Glory produced a late rally and capitalised when Christina Julien scored in the 84th minute but it turned out to be no more than a consolation against Victory, who had already established a comfortable lead through Jessica Fishlock, Caitlin Friend and former Glory striker Lisa De Vanna.
Glory produced a late rally and capitalised when Christina Julien scored in the 84th minute but it turned out to be no more than a consolation against Victory, who had already established a comfortable lead through Jessica Fishlock, Caitlin Friend and former Glory striker Lisa De Vanna.
“It-s a continual process,” Harnwell said. “We-ve been working a lot but clearly not enough. It was simple errors that cost us. When we were able to string some passes together we looked quite good but a bit of lack of effort in the first half let us down.
“We threw a few players in for the second half and I feel we dominated the last half an hour but we just couldn-t convert our chances.”
Glory conceded their first goal in the 24th minute when Fishlock-s 25m effort caught off guard keeper Chantel Jones and the ball found its way into the net via the inside of the far post.
Despite responding well after the setback, Glory were caught on the counter just eight minutes later when Friend ran on to a clever flick and calmly slotted the ball past Jones, who had little chance in the one-on-one situation.
The home side threatened to reduce the deficit around the half hour mark with a series of corners but when Collette McCallum got a header on target, Victory keeper Cassandra Dimovski was equal to it.
Glory lifted their intensity after the half-time break and in the 56th minute Rosie Sutton found herself in behind the defence and forced Dimovski into a diving save. At the other end, Jones was called into action on several occasions, making some crucial interceptions.
Although De Vanna was kept relatively quiet by Shannon May, the Matildas striker eventually got her name on the score sheet when she rode the challenge of Sasha Andrews and tucked the ball into the net with eight minutes of normal time remaining.
Glory-s consolation arrived just two minutes later when Canadian import Julien played a smart one-two and struck her second goal of the season.
Perth Glory 1 (Julien 84-)
Melbourne Victory 3 (Fishlock 24-, Friend 32-, De Vanna 82-)
Referee: Casey Reibelt
Perth Glory: 1. Chantel JONES (GK), 3. Cecilie SANDVEJ, 4. Bronwyn STUDMAN (16. Thia EASTMAN 82-), 5. Shannon MAY, 6. Sasha ANDREWS, 8. Ella MASTRANTONIO (19. Shawm BILLAM 77-), 9. Rosie SUTTON, 13. Elisa D-OVIDIO (2. Sarah Carroll 60-), 14. Collette McCALLUM, 17. Marianna TABAIN, 21. Christina JULIEN
Unused substitutes: 20. Kathleen WAYCOTT
Yellow cards: Tabain 46-, Mastrantonio 51-, Sandvej 56-, Andrews 82-
Red cards: Nil
Melbourne Victory: 20. Cassandra DIMOVSKI (GK), 3. Jessica HUMBLE (19. Alexandra NATOLI 85-), 4. Katie HOYLE, 7. Stephanie CATLEY, 9. Caitlin FRIEND (5. Laura SPIRANOVIC 71-), 10. Jessica FISHLOCK, 11. Lisa DE VANNA (6. Ciny LAY 83-), 12. Jessica SAMUELSSON, 14. Enza BARILLA, 15. Emma CHECKER, 17. GUlcan KOCA
Unused substitutes: 30. Melissa MAIZELS
Yellow cards: De Vanna 59-
Red cards: Nil
