Glory moved to within five points of the Liberty A-League top four as first-half goals from Cyera Hintzen and Susan Phonsongkham secured a 2-0 victory over Wellington Phoenix at Macedonia Park.
View full match highlights HERE.
Hintzen fired in the home side’s opener after just six minutes before Hana Lowry was brought down in the box and Phonsongkham calmly converted from the spot.
A dramatic first half then took another twist as Ella Mastrantonio and Emma Rolston both received straight reds after a clash close to the centre circle.
Phoenix attempted to rally following the break, but led by Kim Carroll on what was her 150th A-League appearance, the Glory defence held firm to see out a second win of the campaign.
Head Coach Alex Epakis was generally satisfied with a victory which keeps Glory’s finals hopes very much alive.
“It was a performance that got us the three points, so you’re always happy to get that,” he said.
“There were phases where we were good and phases where we could have been better.
“I would have liked us to have been more clinical at times, but as it is, we had a very good performance against Victory last weekend and we’ve backed it up with a solid one today.
“A third goal would have definitely killed the game off, but nonetheless we didn’t concede, so maybe we took our foot off the gas or maybe we were just smarter without the ball and how we positioned ourselves.”
Roared on by another vocal home crowd, Glory made the best possible start when Hintzen found a pocket of space on the edge of the box and rifled in a low shot which Brianna Edwards was unable to keep out of the net.
1-0 became 2-0 eight minutes later, Mackenzie Barry’s foul on Lowry handing Phonsongkham an opportunity to claim her first goal of the season from the spot which she took with minimum fuss.
In a chance-laden opening period Lowry was denied by Edwards, while at the other end, Michaela Foster’s corner clipped the top of the bar aided by a strong breeze blowing straight down the pitch.
Next to get the crowd on their feet was the double red card incident featuring Mastrantonio and Rolston and no sooner had the duo made their early exit than Liz Anton and Natasha Rigby both went close to adding a third for the hosts.
The second half was a more sedate affair as the visitors found their attempts to force their way back into the game thwarted by a Carroll-inspired Glory defence and with the exception of a Foster cross again striking the top of the bar, they rarely threatened until the final ten minutes.
Ava Pritchard was centimetres away from converting a Michaela Robertson cross and Sarah Langman saved well from Foster, but Glory seemed determined to mark Carroll’s milestone with a clean sheet and duly dug deep to ensure they did exactly that.
Match Details
Liberty A-League 2022/23 Season Round 10
Perth Glory 2 (Hintzen 6′, Phonsongkham (pen) 14′) Wellington Phoenix 0
Half-time: 1-0
Macedonia Park
Referee: Casey Reibelt
Perth Glory: 20.Sarah LANGMAN (gk), 3.Kim CARROLL, 4.Natasha RIGBY (c), 7.Liz ANTON, 8.Hana LOWRY, 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM (9.Demi KOULIZAKIS 57′), 12.Sofia SAKALIS (23.Alana JANCEVSKI 79′), 15.Cyera HINTZEN (17.Abbey GREEN 89′), 18.Sadie LAWRENCE (13.Sarah CAIN 79′), 19.Izzy FOLETTA, 21.Ella MASTRANTONIO
Substitutes not used: 1.Morgan AQUINO (gk)
Yellow Cards: Anton, Green
Red Cards: Mastrantonio
Wellington Phoenix: 12. Brianna EDWARDS (gk), 3. Kate TAYLOR, 4. Mackenzie BARRY, 5. Marisa VAN DER MEER (6. Isabel GOMEZ 78′), 7. Chloe KNOTT, 8. Grace WISNEWSKI, 9. Ava PRITCHARD, 13. Paige SATCHELL (20. Milly CLEGG 63′), 14. Michaela ROBERTSON, 16. Emma ROLSTON, 21. Michaela FOSTER
Substitutes not used: 2.Saskia VOSPER, 17. Claudia CICCO, 22. Georgia CANDY (gk)
Yellow Cards: Patchell
Red Cards: Rolston
#ONEGlory
