Daniel Stynes found the back of the net twice as a 10-man Glory triumphed 4-2 over Adelaide United in their final home game of the Foxtel Y-League season at Dorrien Gardens on Saturday.
In a match where both goalkeepers were kept busy throughout, Stynes scored in the 54th and 77th minutes, with fellow-attackers Jaiden Selden and Ethan Brooks also adding their names to the scoresheet as Glory claimed their third win of the campaign.
The warm conditions were made even more challenging for the hosts after key defender Zayd Farah was sent off with just 36 minutes played, but Richard Garcia’s side regrouped admirably to grind out an impressive win and retain third place in the Conference A standings.
“We showed courage and we showed the resilience that the boys have started to grow in recent weeks,” Garcia said.
“People put their bodies on the line and defended well, so when we go forward we’ve got that quality that allows us to go and score.
“The most important thing was their mentality and that’s something we’ve been trying to drive…today was a good display of what we’re capable of when everyone’s thinking and doing the right thing.”
Glory barely had time to settle into the match before Adelaide’s Carlo Armiento had defenders scrambling to block his close-range effort.
And home goalkeeper Jackson Lee was also kept busy from the opening whistle, being forced to use his outstretched right leg to stop a powerful strike from Pacifique Niyongabire and then move quickly across the goal face to cover Armiento’s follow-up attempt.
Niyongabire was a constant threat down the left and only some fine glovework by Lee prevented him from firing the Reds into the lead in the 24th minute.
Adelaide’s Taras Gomulka, meanwhile, had his side’s best chance of the first half after finding himself alone at the top of the six-yard box following a low cross from the right, but he sprayed his shot well over the crossbar, much to the relief of the Glory defence.
Selden then broke the game open with a scintillating run, brushing off three Adelaide defenders before slotting the ball into the bottom-left corner.
Their celebrations turned sour moments later, however, when key defender Farah was shown a second yellow card and given his marching orders, leaving Glory to play out nearly an hour with 10 men.
Not that it seemed to unduly trouble them as they doubled their lead early in the second half.
Substitute Brooks provided a carefully-weighted cross for Selden, he had his shot blocked, but Stynes was perfectly placed to pounce on the loose ball and, after sidestepping one opponent, calmly found the net.
That two-goal buffer proved crucial when Lee fumbled a shot from Armiento in the 67th minute, allowing Niyongabire to pull one back for the visitors and substitute Ninko Beric then went agonisingly close to putting the match back on even terms as his shot clipped the left post.
But Glory’s win was effectively sealed when Jai King-Byrne brought down Kristian Popovic inside the penalty area in the 75th minute and Stynes made no mistake from the resulting spot kick.
The action did not stop there as Brooks switched to the left wing and finished off a fine run to give Glory a three-goal lead, before Adelaide pulled it back to two less than a minute later through Gomulka.
Garcia was delighted with his side’s ability to remain composed during tough patches, particularly early in the contest when Adelaide peppered multiple chances at goal.
“Two weeks ago when we played against (Melbourne) Victory,” he said, “I spoke about how composed and how calm their performance was and how they thought about everything they did. This week was a bit more of a resilient effort, but still with patches of that calm and composed quality football that we want to play.
“I’m glad the boys have risen to the occasion and are starting to grasp some of the concepts we’re trying to teach them.”
Glory’s final match of the Foxtel Y-League season is away to Melbourne City on January 20.
Match Details
Perth Glory 4 (Selden 29’, Stynes 54’, (pen) 77′, Brooks 78’)
Adelaide United 2 (Niyongabire 67’, Gomulka 79’)
At Dorrien Gardens, Perth
Referee: Shane Skinner
Assistants: Adrien Liechti, Harry Bolan
Fourth Official: Matthew Southern
Perth Glory: 1. Jackson LEE (GK), 2. Daniel WALSH, 3. Walter SCOTT, 4. Zayd FARAH, 5. Henry HORE (C), 6. Kristian POPOVIC, 7. Trent OSTLER, 8. Cameron MURRAY (14. Ethan BROOKS 46’), 9. Jaidon SELDEN, 10. Daniel STYNES, 11. Gabriel POPOVIC
Substitutes not used: 12. Nicholas SPECA, 15. Jack LEECH, 17. Kristian SANTICH
Yellow cards: Zayd Farah (26’), Daniel Stynes (36’)
Red cards: Zayd Farah (32’)
Adelaide United: 1. Isaac RICHARDS (GK), 7. Taras GOMULKA, 8. Jai KING-BYRNE, 11. Carlo ARMIENTO, 12. Yared ABETEW, 14. Noah SMITH (9. Ninko BERIC 65’), 19. Al Hassan TOURE (10. Aladin IRABONA 61’), 22. Cooper NUNN (44. Jared CLARK 61’), 24. Pacifique NIYONGABIRE, 27. Louis D’ARRIGO (C), 28. Kristian KONSTANDOPOULOS
Substitutes not used: 20. Cameron COOK (GK)
Yellow cards: Kristian Konstandpoulos (13’), Carlo Armiento (28’), Cooper Nunn (38’), Jai King-Byrne (75’)
Red cards: Nil
#OneGlory
Picture courtesy of Tom McCarthy
