Jayden Leader’s well-taken first-half goal secured the PGFC Academy First Team a share of the spoils as they fought out a fractious 1-1 draw with Armadale SC at Crazy Domains Stadium on Friday evening.
Glory’s youngsters came into the game buoyed by an impressive 3-0 away win over Stirling Macedonia in their previous outing, but found themselves trailing inside the opening five minutes as Gordon Perkins drifted into a pocket of space at the far post and drilled home a low shot.
Having taken some time to adjust to Armadale’s high and intense press, Alex Epakis’ side got themselves back on level terms in the 25th minute, a sweeping move culminating in Leader making light of a tight angle to find the net.
Either side of half-time, both Leader and Lucas Rossi went close to putting Glory in front, before Armadale’s Angel Andres Rivera saw a goalbound effort deflected centimetres wide of the target.
By this stage, the tone of the game had turned spiteful and several players were fortunate not to receive red cards.
Instead, referee Josh Mannella dished out a total of eight yellows as a series of fouls and subsequent flare-ups led to a disjointed final half-hour.
There was, however, very nearly some drama at the death as Glory’s Joe Hobson fired narrowly off-target having turned cleverly to lose his marker.
And with the very last kick of the game, Armadale’s Abdullahi Osman blazed a gilt-edged chance over the bar.
On Saturday morning, meanwhile, the PGFC Academy Under-18s and Under-20s both got the better of their Armadale counterparts, recording respective 9-0 and 10-2 victories.
Match Details
PGFC Academy First Team 1 (Leader 25′) Armadale SC 1 (Perkins 5′)
Half-time: 1-1
Crazy Domains Stadium at Hartfield Park
Referee: Josh Mannella
PGFC Academy First Team: 1.Adrian SINAGRA (GK) (16.Keegan GRANT 72′), 3.Daniel WALSH (C), 4.Judd MACDOUGALL, 6.Danny DOUGLAS (14.Matt GEORGE 82′), 7.Lucas ROSSI, 8.Andrew MARANTA, 9.Joe HOBSON, 10.Aidan EDWARDS, 11.Jayden LEADER (17.Christian BELLADONNA 63′), 12.Will FORMSTON, 20.Lucas COOK
Substitutes not used: 2.Taiga MATOBA, 13.Shade STEWART,
Yellow Cards: Formston, Leader, Walsh, Sinagra, Maranta
Red Cards: None
Armadale SC: 72.Yousri GHARSALLAH (GK), 2.Andrew REALE, 5.Kevin GALLO, 7.Paul ENOUL DE LA CEHENLIERE, 8.Gordon PERKINS, 9.Angel ANDRES RIVERA, 10.Henri MULWILA, 11.Adriano JELENOVIC, 12.Abdullahi OSMAN, 14.Eddie GARRIDO, 20.Shaydon PASSALACQUA
Substitutes: 3.Isaac KOOMSON, 6.Jess GRESE, 15.Luqman SAYYED, 17.Pieter JACOBSZ, 22.Sam HUTCHINGS, 23.Tarek ATTA
Yellow Cards: Andres Rivera, Jelenovic, Garrido
Red Cards: None
(picture courtesy of Tom McCarthy)
#OneGlory
