Shane Smeltz, the marquee man from Perth, netted his third goal of the A-League season, leading the Glory to a 1-0 triumph over Wellington Phoenix at nib Stadium on Sunday.
In the 33rd minute, Smeltz seized on an exquisite set-piece play to score the decisive goal, propelling the unbeaten Glory to share the top position in the table with the fellow front-runners, Brisbane.
The 30-year-old New Zealand international, who previously played for the Phoenix for two seasons, had an opportunity to score a second goal against his old club, yet he sent his effort in the 70th minute soaring over the crossbar, despite making a tiring 30-meter dash into the box.
In the 93rd minute, Wellington found themselves down to 10 men when defender Manny Muscat received a second yellow card for elbowing Billy Mehmet while challenging for a header.
In the 54th minute, the Phoenix nearly equalized, however, Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic’s fingertip save deflected Ben Sigmund’s heading attempt onto the crossbar and away from danger.
Next Saturday, Perth will strive to achieve a club record by securing a fourth consecutive A-League win when they face Central Coast at Bluetongue Stadium.
During a hard-fought first half, Phoenix players Ben Sigmund, Muscat, and Daniel all earned yellow cards, while Perth’s Liam Miller was also penalized for diving.
Glory defender Chris Coyne suffered a bloody injury following a head collision with Dani Sanchez, but the Phoenix midfielder took the worst of it, requiring several minutes on the ground to recover before he was allowed to continue.
Although Wellington created more chances early in the match, it was Perth who capitalized first. Bas van den Brink headed Jacob Burns’ perfectly placed free-kick directly into the path of a surging Smeltz.
Having scored a double against Melbourne Heart the prior week, Smeltz calmly volleyed the ball into the net, much to the excitement of the 8299 fans present.
“We have never performed as well as we did tonight in the five years we’ve been coming here,” remarked Wellington coach Ricki Herbert.
“I believed we dominated the match entirely. I’m somewhat at a loss for words. We played particularly well in the second half.
“We created several good goal-scoring chances in the first half too. But just one set play and we got punished for it.”
Acknowledging luck, Glory coach Ian Ferguson admitted that his side was fortunate to take home all three points.
“It wasn’t an outstanding performance, but I have witnessed us play better and leave with nothing, so we should be content with that,” Ferguson commented.
“It’s amusing; I’ve just come from that dressing room, and we feel quite disappointed yet grateful and happy to have the three points. We understand we must improve.”
Ferguson added that midfielder Liam Miller, who exited the match late due to a limp, had merely experienced cramp.
A-League Ladder
|
P |
W |
D |
L |
GD |
Pts |
||
| 1 | Brisbane | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| 2 | Perth | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Wellington | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Sydney | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
| 6 | Adelaide | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 7 | Victory | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
| 8 | Gold Coast | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
| 9 | Heart | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| 10 | Central Coast | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
by Buford Balony
