Dane Ingham’s second goal in as many games was not enough to prevent Glory from slipping to a 2-1 defeat against Wellington Phoenix in Wednesday night’s clash at Bankwest Stadium.
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Gary Hooper fired the Kiwi side into a first-half lead which Ulises Davila duly doubled from the penalty spot moments after the break and although Ingham’s stunning strike on 62 minutes gave Glory hope, they were ultimately unable to snatch a share of the spoils.
The defeat, their first against the Kiwis since February 2017, leaves the WA side in fifth spot on the ladder, one point behind fourth-placed Brisbane Roar with a game in hand on the Queenslanders.
And Head Coach Tony Popovic felt that his side were unfortunate to leave Bankwest Stadium empty-handed.
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“I thought it was a good display overall and I thought we deserved something from the game,” he said.
“I felt we controlled it in the first half. They had one attempt and they caught us on the break with that one attempt.
“Their [Wellington’s] game plan worked. They sat off and they got that one chance with the ball over the top.
“We got punished for two errors in the game.
“We’re building something and in the second half we had better opportunities, but we didn’t take them.
“At 2-1, I thought we’d get something from the game and I was very happy with the all-round performance.
“I anticipate that we’ll get better as this [the hub] goes along.”
While Glory dominated the opening 20 minutes in terms of possession, it was Phoenix who mustered the game’s first shot, Reno Piscopo’s fierce strike bravely blocked by Alex Grant on the edge of the box.
And the visitors took the lead from their next attack, Hooper latching on to Callum McCowatt’s through-ball and calmly firing home his third goal in as many appearances against Glory.
Fornaroli was the first to respond to that setback for the men in purple, drawing a sharp save from Stefan Marinovic after cutting in from the left and unloading with his right foot.
Glory proceeded to create the final chance of the first half, Ingham making inroads once again down the left and delivering a cross which eventually found Ivan Franjic, but the defender was unable to keep his shot down.
The second period got off to the worst possible start for Popovic’s side, however, as Jacob Tratt, who had been introduced from the bench along with Joel Chianese as part of a half-time reshuffle, brought David Ball down in the box.
Davila took responsibility for the spot-kick and although Reddy went the right way, he was unable to keep out the Mexican’s pinpoint effort.
Tratt came close to making amends when he rose well to meet Neil Kilkenny’s corner moments later, but Marinovic managed to parry the defender’s powerful header and the loose ball was successfully scrambled away by the Phoenix defence.
With chances flowing far more freely than they had in the first half, Wellington’s Ball saw his curler flash just over the bar before Ingham pulled one back for Glory with a strike every bit as emphatic as the one which secured Saturday’s win over the Mariners.
Kilkenny and substitute Nick D’Agostino combined to find the defender on the edge of the box and he bent a dipping shot past Marinovic into the far corner.
Buoyed by that lifeline, Glory threatened again as Fornaroli twice went close and then saw his goalbound effort deflected wide by Matti Steinmann with ten minutes left.
D’Agostino also saw a well-struck effort blocked by a cluster of desperate Wellington defenders and despite applying some concerted pressure in the latter stages, the reigning Premiers were unable to find a second goal.
Match Details
Perth Glory 1 (Ingham 62′) Wellington Phoenix 2 (Hooper 32′, Davila (pen) 48′)
Half-Time: 0-1
Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta
Referee: Alex King
Assistant Referee 1: Andrej Giev
Assistant Referee 2: James Cleal
Fourth Official: Alireza Faghani
Perth Glory: 33.Liam REDDY (GK), 2.Alex GRANT, 5.Ivan FRANJIC (7.Joel CHIANESE 46′), 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 13.Osama MALIK, 20.Jake BRIMMER (3.Jacob TRATT 46′), 23.Dane INGHAM (8.James MEREDITH 79′), 27.JUANDE, 28.Gabriel POPOVIC (18.Nick D’AGOSTINO 61′), 29.Kristian POPOVIC, 88.Neil KILKENNY (c)
Substitutes not used: 50.Daniel MARGUSH (GK), 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 22.Vince LIA
Yellow Cards: Grant
Red Cards: None
Wellington Phoenix: 1.Stefan MARINOVIC (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 5.Matti STEINMANN, 7.Reno PISCOPO (11.Jaushua SOTIRIO 51′), 8.Cameron DEVLIN, 9. David BALL, 13.Liberato CACACE, 16.Louis FENTON, 21.Callum McCOWATT (4.Te Atawhai HUDSON-WIHONGI 83′), 27.Steven TAYLOR (c), 88. Gary HOOPER (10.Ulises DAVILA 46′)
Substitutes not used: 12. Brandon WILSON, 14.Alex RUFER, 30.Zac JONES (gk), 32.Sam SUTTON
Yellow Cards: Taylor
Red Cards: None
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