A brave Perth Glory has gone down to Sydney FC in a 2-0 result at 6PR Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A brave Perth Glory has gone down to Sydney FC in a 2-0 result at 6PR Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
With the aid of a powerful sea breeze gusting in from the coast, the Sky Blues took the lead through Dimitri Petratos in the 16th minute before Kofi Danning doubled the advantage just before the half hour.
The Glory saw a good chance by midfielder Brandon O’Neill come off the upright during the second half, but that was the best of their opportunities as they lost their second game in a row.
Sydney didn’t have it all their own way to begin with however, as the Glory laid siege to the visitor’s goal in the opening stages.
Less than a minute was on the clock when Sydney goalkeeper Dylan Mitchell was forced to save Glory striker Billy Quinncroft’s close-range effort while Cameron Edwards’ netted shot was flagged offside in the 12th minute.
It was a big call by the linesman as striker Quinncroft was deemed offside despite not getting to Harry O’Brien’s cross from the right, as the ball flowed through to Edwards to slam home.
Sydney, though, took advantage of the missed chance for Perth, as they took the lead four minutes later.
A speculative long ball forward looked like it would be dealt with by Glory defender Brent Griffiths. But when Griffiths couldn’t clear Danning pounced, passing off neatly for Petratos to slam in a quality finish.
It just got worse for Perth in the 28th minute and again it was the unfortunate Griffiths who was involved. Under pressure from Danning, the central defender attempted a lofted pass back to the goalkeeper but didn’t put enough power on it.
This forced Glory stopper Alex Pearson to desperately come off his line to take the ball, but Danning was too quick, getting to it first and gently lobbing it over the ‘keeper for Sydney’s second.
Perth responded as Edwards saw a chip shot land on the top netting before a heavy touch from Glory midfielder Andrija Jukic saw a good chance go begging close to goal.
Sydney should have been further ahead at the break however, as Danning cut off Josh Risdon’s backpass in defence, Danning’s strike coming off the inside of the upright and bouncing to safety.
The Glory started with greater intensity after the break, however, as impressive midfielder O’Neill took possession on the left of the penalty area, curling in a shot that also came off the upright in the 53rd minute.
Perth’s Howard Fondyke then saw a shot saved while impressive Glory winger Storm Roux produced a spectacular run down the left before passing to second-half substitute Sahr Musa, who was narrowly flagged offside when in a good position to run into goal.
However, for all Perth’s efforts, it was Sydney that finished the stronger as skipper Joel Chianese somehow skied his shot over an open goal from two metres out before seeing a later effort palmed around the post by the quick-thinking Pearson.
Perth Glory 0
Sydney FC 2 (Petratos 16, Danning 28)
6PR Stadium, Perth
