Perth Glory’s charge for a Liberty A-League Finals berth continues to gather momentum after a Mie Leth Jans header secured a hard-fought and vital 1-0 victory over fellow-Finals-hopefuls Adelaide United at Central Coast Stadium.
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The Danish midfielder glanced home a Deborah-Anne de la Harpe corner with just six minutes on the clock and despite losing substitute Susan Phonsongkham to a red card shortly after the hour-mark, the women in purple kept the in-form Reds at bay to secure the three points.
The first yellow card received by Phonsongkham seemed harsh and it followed another controversial incident in the first half which saw an effort from United forward Fiona Worts initially given as a goal, only to then be ruled out for offside after a lengthy delay.
Nonetheless, Alex Epakis’ side reacted superbly to the loss of Phonsongkham and the Head Coach was understandably delighted with his charges’ overall display.
“It was such a proud and pleasing performance,” he said.
“I said to the group before the match that what we’re going through as a collective at the moment is inspiring in the way the players are facing up to all the challenges.
“I said we needed an inspired performance today and they certainly went above and beyond that.
“What the players did today wasn’t always pretty, it wasn’t always by the game plan, but it was based on effort, pure determination and a fixated mindset that we wanted to defend a lead and defend the win.
“The way they did it fills me and the group with so much belief about what the next few weeks can look like.”
Glory made the best possible start in their search for a first win over the Reds in eight attempts, de la Harpe’s pinpoint corner finding Leth Jans at the near post whose deft header gave Annalee Grove in the Adelaide goal no chance.
Six minutes later, it appeared that the Reds had restored parity when Worts forced the ball home from close range after Morgan Aquino had blocked Emily Condon’s initial effort.
The English striker, however, was eventually adjudged to have been offside, a decision which prompted furious and protracted protests from the Adelaide technical staff.
There was little in the way of goalmouth incident during the remainder of the first half and in fact it wasn’t until the hour-mark that there was another major twist in the tale.
Just nine minutes after being introduced from the bench at half-time, Phonsongkham collected a yellow card for dissent and moments later, her trip on Dylan Holmes in the centre circle earned her a second caution and a premature return to the sidelines.
Lifted by their numerical superiority, the Reds pushed hard for an equaliser in the final quarter, but the remaining ten Glory players produced an heroic effort to keep them at arm’s length.
And when Adelaide did finally get a sight of goal in the first minute of stoppage-time, Morgan Aquino adjusted well to shovel away a low shot from substitute Reona Omiya and ensure that Glory would not be denied a deserved fifth win of the season.
Match Details
Perth Glory 1 (Leth Jans 12′) Adelaide United 0
Half-time: 1-0
Central Coast Stadium
Referee: Georgia Ghirardello
Perth Glory: 1.Morgan AQUINO (GK), 3.Kim CARROLL, 4.Natasha RIGBY (C), 5.Deborah-Annde DE LA HARPE, 7.Liz ANTON, 8.Hana LOWRY (12.Sofia SAKALIS 72′), 9.Demi KOULIZAKIS (10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM 46′), 13.Sarah CAIN, 15.Cyera HINTZEN (11.Lisa DE VANNA 82′), 17.Abbey GREEN (21.Aideen KEANE 84′), 26.Mie LETH JANS
Substitutes not used: 20.Courtney NEWBON
Yellow Cards: Keane
Red Cards: Phonsongkham
Adelaide United: 1.Annalee GROVE (GK), 2.Emily HODGSON (17.Shadeene EVANS 80′), 3.Matilda MACNAMARA, 4.Kayla SHARPLES, 8.Emily CONDON (5.Emma STANBURY 68′), 9.Paige HAYWARD (15.Meleri MULLAN 80′), 10.Chelsie DAWBER, 11.Isabel HODGSON (C), 12.Nanako SASAKI (6.Reona OMIYA 65′), 16.Dylan HOLMES, 23.Fiona WORTS
Substitutes not used: 20.Miranda TEMPLEMAN
Yellow Cards: Hodgson I, Hodgson E
Red Cards: None
#OneGlory
(picture courtesy of Scott Gardiner Photography)
