Western Sydney Wanderers 1 Perth Glory 0
How good is this? ... Wanderers players celebrate after the whistle. Photo: Brendan Esposito
The fairytale continues for Western Sydney Wanderers, who clinched their seventh successive win by defeating Perth Glory 1-0 to inch a step closer to a potential minor premiership in their debut season.
Just five months after making their debut, a squad comprised mostly of players discarded by rival A-League clubs have officially cemented their place in the finals with five games to go.
Mobility and speed proved the difference for the Wanderers whose fluid passing game unravelled the Glory. The winning goal – a deflected Aaron Mooy shot -may not have possessed the finesse their performance deserved, but it was an example of how labour is often rewarded by luck.
The Wanderers started the match brightly and a quick exchange down the right flank between Youssouf Hersi and Jerome Polenz carved open a chance for Shinji Ono on the edge of the box. Though, the Japanese star crossed his wires with Joey Gibbs and a seemingly clear chance went begging.
They didn't have to wait much longer for their first shot on goal when Italian midfielder surged forward to set up Joey Gibbs. Though, the striker's tame effort was directed straight into the awaiting arms of Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic.
Iacopo La Rocca became the first player to enter the book after just 11 minutes when he caught his opposite in the sternum with a late and high challenge.
The Wanderers movement off the ball caused havoc for Glory's defenders and Nicky Ward embodied the visitors frustration when he hauled down Mark Bridge outside the box. Ono forced a save from Vukovic from the resulting free-kick.
The Glory had no answer to the Wanderers onslaught in the first half and, as the hosts continued to exert their fluid passing game, Perth gave away fouls that stuttered their opponents attack.
Perth eventually settled began to find their rhythm midway through the first half as the Wanderers early enthusiasm subsided to a more patient approach. Liam Miller emerged as the fulcrum for Perth's game but they couldn't create a chance on goal despite a strong spell of possession.
The visitors did not show the mentality to take the game to the Wanderers and their lack of intent was reflected as they often slowed the clock down to keep the scores level by half-time.
Perth emerged with more purpose and structural discipline after the breakwhich weakened the Wanderers grip on the match. Though, just as the match appeared to be heading into more of an open contest, the Wanderers eventually found a break through. A quick one-two between Mooy and Mark Bridge exposed holes in the Glory's defence and the Socceroo midfielder's shoot received a fortuitous deflection from Michael Thwaite to rattle the back of the net and elicit a deafening roar from the crowd of 11,772.
Glory coach Alistair Edwards responded with a double substitution, replacing Dean Heffernan and Ward with Scott Jamieson and Argentine midfielder Matias Cordoba. The move added composure to their midfield as the Glory began to retain possession with a short passing game after falling behind.
Though, the Wanderers came close to doubling their lead midway through the second half when Mooy's 40-metre free kick almost hit the back of the net. His curving effort deceived Vukovic in goals and surpassed everyone in the box to shave the upright.
There were signs that the momentum was starting to swing in favour of the Glory in the latter stages of the match and Irish midfielder Miller almost squared the ledger in the 80th minute. He danced his way past two defenders on the edge of the box but his fierce right-foot shot as hit straight at Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic. The visitors refused to surrender and came close again minutes later. Travis Dodd was on the end of a deep cross and supplied a clever cut back to Cordoba who hit a long-range drive that was deflected narrowly over the bar. Their efforts proved to be too little, too late as the Wanderers held on for their seventh straight win.
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS 1 (Aaron Mooy 58m) bt PERTH GLORY 0 at Parramatta Stadium. Crowd: 11,772. Referee: Ben Williams.
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