Report by Tommy Doleman

Photo: Heather Miller

Carlo Coelho’s first goal of the season proved to be the winner as Perth Soccer Club defeated Perth Glory 2-1 in a wet PS4 National Premier Leagues WA clash at Dorrien Gardens.

The hosts led at the break thanks to Nick Ambrogio’s header before Coelho doubled the lead seven minutes into the second half.

Ali Gholami pulled one back deep into stoppage time as Glory rallied in search of a route back into the match.

But it proved too little too late as Perth kept pace with the top three and skipper Clark Keltie acknowledged the points were more important than the performance in difficult weather.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game regardless of the conditions,” he said.

“The game opened up for us in the second half, and if we had been a bit more ruthless in the final third, we could have had four or five.

“You’ve got to take your chances, but in the end we’re happy to take the win and move on.”

Keltie has played a key role for the Azzuri this season, dictating play in front of the back four, and he set up the opening goal with a magnificent cross.

“You’ve got to pick and choose your runs selectively in that position,” he said.

“I found a little pocket of space and it’s just a case of making the most of it when we do get in those positions and fortunately it came off.

“It was a nice little run from Nick (Ambrogio) and I managed to find him and it was a good finish.”

Perth controlled the majority of the first period, but could have gone behind when Jacob Collard rattled the bar with a superb free kick from 30m.

They did eventually capitalise on their possession when Keltie swung over the perfect cross and Ambrogio arrived at the back post to plant a header past Jordan Franken.

Ambrogio was then involved as Perth made it 2-0 on 52 minutes. He teed up Mark Pritchard, who was denied by Franken, but Coelho was first to the loose ball and tapped home.

Dejan Spaseski flashed just wide for the visitors, who were largely restricted to long-range efforts, as Perth maintained control of the game.

Glory did rally late though and scored a consolation five minutes into added time as Gholami bundled home after the hosts failed to clear a set piece.

But there would not be time for another foray forward for Glory, as Perth’s coach Taki Nicolaidis looked ahead to a crucial couple of weeks for the club, which includes a blockbuster with Floreat and an FFA Cup tie with Subiaco.

“We’ve said that we think the next three or four games will make or break our season,” he said.

“At this stage we’re still five points off the top. We had a win today but we can’t afford to drop any points in the next couple of weeks if we want to be in the mix at the end of the season.

“The focus this week will now be on Athena and getting ourselves up for a big game.”

PERTH SC 2 (Ambrogio 33mins, Coelho 52)
PERTH GLORY 1 (Gholami 90+2mins)
Saturday 16 May 2015
Dorrien Gardens
Local kick-off: 3:00pm
 
Perth SC: GK Alex DUNN, 2 Joshua WILKINS, 3 David CYRUS, 5. Dean EVANS, 6. Clark KELTIE (c), 7 Carlo COELHO, 13. Rocco PIZZATA (21. Julian MADASCHI 85), 14. Mark PRITCHARD, 16. Nicholas AMBROGIO (9. Harley ORR 74), 19. Andreas THEODOSIADES (8. Aden DA LUZ 62), 20. James MAROCCHI.
Substitutes not used: 18. Josh PEREIRA, 23. Francis SOALE.
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil

Perth Glory: 1. Jordan FRANKEN, 2. Gian ALBANO, 3. Jacob COLLARD, 4. Nathan COSTELLO, 5. Ali GHOLAMI, 6. Calvin WHITNEY, 7. Sam MACKERNAN (14. Michael MCDOUGALL 70), 8. Dejan SPASESKI, 9. Stefan VALENTINI, 10. Slobodan VULIN, 11. Nick TALIM.
Substitutes not used: 12. Matthew NTOUMENOPOULOS, 13. Sean TROPP, 15. Hayden STEVENS, 20. Jordan YOUNG.
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil