Antonee Burke-Gilroy, Ciaran Bramwell and Bruno Fornaroli all found the net as Glory downed ten-man Melbourne Victory 3-0 at AAMI Park to secure an impressive first win of the Isuzu Ute A-League 2021/22 Season.
Click HERE for full video highlights.
The home side lost Raimon Marchan to a red card in first-half stoppage-time after the Spanish midfielder’s dangerous challenge left Jonathan Aspropotamitis with a gashed head.
And Glory duly seized control after the break, grabbing the lead just after the hour-mark courtesy of a stunning, curling effort from Antonee Burke-Gilroy.
Having opened his A-League goalscoring account, Burke-Gilroy then provided the assist for substitute Ciaran Bramwell to make it 2-0 with a firm, downward header.
Glory’s third win in their last four away clashes with Victory was confirmed in the final minute of normal time when Bruno Fornaroli notched his second goal of the campaign with a typically fierce strike from outside the box.
Given the number of senior players currently unavailable and the ongoing uncertainty around border restrictions, Head Coach Richard Garcia was especially delighted with the performance and the result.
Click HERE to watch Garcia’s media conference in full.
“I’m very, very pleased for a group of guys who are going through an impossible situation and tonight showed their selflessness and the trust they have in each other and they played like that, which was great to see,” he said.
“We defended very well in the first half and I can’t really remember too many open chances, so that was very pleasing.
“In the second half, we had a lot of the ball and took our chances, which is great.
“We’ve always said that we wanted to bring young guys into the squad and, especially with the situation we’re in, they’ve been very mature about it.
“It’s fantastic that we have leaders within the group that are such shining examples not only on, but also off the park.”
20-year-old Cameron Cook, making his A-League debut in goal for Glory, was largely untroubled in a first half which yielded relatively few clear-cut chances for either side.
That said, it was Glory who came closest to snatching an early lead when a Daniel Stynes curler drew a fine save from Ivan Kelava low to his left.
There was far more goalmouth action after the break, however, as the visitors gradually began to get the upper hand and they hit the front in spectacular style as Burke-Gilroy beat Kelava all ends up with a superb strike from some 25m out.
16 minutes from time, Garcia’s side doubled their lead, Burke-Gilroy delivering a fine cross from the right which Bramwell nodded in from close-range to bag his second senior goal.
And the cake was well and truly iced right at the death when Fornaroli strode to the edge of the box and drove an unerring shot into the corner of the net.
Victory looked to have earned themselves an opportunity to claim a stoppage-time consolation from the penalty spot when Daniel Stynes was initially adjudged to have impeded former Glory man Jason Davidson in the box, but the VAR eventually overturned referee Kurt Ams’ decision, allowing the visitors to secure a first clean sheet of the campaign.
Match Details
Melbourne Victory 0 Perth Glory 3 (Burke-Gilroy 66′, Bramwell 74′, Fornaroli 89′)
Half-time: 0-0
AAMI Park
Referee: Kurt Ams
Melbourne Victory: 20.Ivan KELAVA (GK), 2.Jason GERIA, 3.Jason DAVIDSON, 4.Raimon Marchan VIDAL, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Josh BRILLANTE (C), 11.Gbenga FOLAMI (9.Francesco MARGIOTTA 68′), 17.Brendan HAMILL ( 16.Stefan NIGRO 12′), 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO (24.Noshan VELUPILLAY 68′), 22.Jake BRIMMER ( 26.Lleyton BROOKS 82′), 23.Marco ROJAS (10.Robbie KRUSE 82′)
Substitutes not used: 19.Jerrad TYSON (GK), 5.Matthew SPIRANOVIC
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: Marchan
Perth Glory: 12.Cameron COOK (GK), 2.Aaron CALVER (22.Josh RAWLINS 59′), 4.Luke BODNAR, 5.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 7.Adrian SARDINERO (38.Ciaran BRAMWELL 68′), 8.Kosuke OTA (24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE 61′), 9.Bruno FORNAROLI (C), 14.Jack CLISBY, 18.Daniel STYNES, 21.Antonee BURKE-GILROY, 29.Darryl LACHMAN
Substitutes not used: 26.Giordano COLLI, 30.Nicholas SORRAS (GK) 32.Aidan COYNE, 41.Chris DONNELL
Yellow Cards: Ota, Niyongabire, Fornaroli, Burke-Gilroy
Red Cards: None
#OneGlory
