For the second time in six days, a late goal secured Glory three points at the expense of Brisbane Roar, this time Alana Jancevski’s deflected effort steering the visitors to a dramatic 1-0 victory at Perry Park.
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Roar were gunning for revenge after two goals in the final five minutes consigned them to defeat last weekend, but they were unable to prevent Alex Epakis’ side from repeating the trick as Jancevski came off the bench to fire home the winner and send Glory to the top of the embryonic Liberty A-League table.
In what was another hard-fought encounter, Roar struck the bar through Anna Margraf midway through the second half, while Gemma Craine came close to giving Glory the lead early in the first.
Unsurprisingly, Epakis was thrilled by the character his side showed to once again finish strongly and collect maximum points.
“It was very similar to last week,” he said.
“We competed for 90 minutes, players did their jobs whether they started or came off the bench and did what they needed to do for the team and I think when you’re competitive for 90 minutes, you always give yourself an opportunity to win the game.
“It was a fantastic end to the game and Alana’s goal was obviously a case of being in the right place at the right time.
“The group is so happy.
“The best part about it is that we know we’re not exactly where want to be yet in terms of performance, but we’re doing enough to get the result and it’s a really good foundation that we’ve laid.”
In front of a vocal home crowd, Roar began brightly and yet it was Glory who created the first major chance of the game, Craine forcing a smart save from Georgina Worth with an angled strike.
Morgan Aquino then matched her Roar counterpart by blocking well-struck efforts from Margraf and Mariel Hecher in quick succession as a pulsating first half drew to a close.
The second stanza was lighter on clear-cut chances as fatigue started to creep in, although Margraf did give Aquino’s crossbar a shake with a mis-hit cross before the key moment arrived four minutes from time.
Craine’s corner was cleared to the edge of the box where Jancevski fired in a shot which bounced onto the outstretched leg of the unfortunate Hecher and looped over Worth into the roof of the net.
Glory were forced to ensure some anxious moments as Roar battled desperately to claim a share of the spoils, but they dug in bravely to secure the club’s third victory in what was its ninth away clash with the Queenslanders.
Match Details
Brisbane Roar 0 Perth Glory 1 (Jancevski 86′)
Half-time: 0-1
Referee: Rachel Mitchenson
Perry Park
Brisbane Roar: 1.Georgina WORTH (GK), 2.Anna MARGRAF (23.Meaghan MCELLIGOTT 84′), 3.Jessie RASSCHAERT, 5.Jamilla RANKIN, 6.Nia STAMATOPOULOS (10.Katrina GORRY 55′), 7.Ayesha NORRIE (C), 8.Mariel HECHER, 9.larissa CRUMMER, 12.Shea CONNORS, 18.Annabel HAFFENDEN, 22.Cannon CLOUGH
Substitutes not used: 14.Rie KITANO, 21.Mia BAILEY 9GK), 24.Ellen GETT
Yellow Cards: Crummer
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 1.Morgan AQUINO (GK), 2.Sarah CARROLL (5.Deborah-Anne DE LA HARPE 61′), 3.Kim CARROLL ( 13.Sarah CAIN 61′), 4.Natasha RIGBY (C), 7.Liz ANTON, 8.Hana LOWRY, 11.Lisa DE VANNA ( 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM 45′), 12.Sofia SAKALIS ( 23.Alana JANCEVSKI 55′), 18.Sadie LAWRENCE, 24.Gemma CRAINE, 26.Mie LETH JANS
Substitutes not used: 20.Courtney NEWBON (GK)
Yellow Cards: Cain
Red Cards: None
#OneGlory
