Report by Jayden Lihou

Perth Glory turned around a 1-0 deficit, defeating Armadale 2-1 at Alfred Skeet Reserve in the first round of the Playstation 4 NPLWA season.

Armadale’s captain Nathan Costello scored the opener in the 24th minute, but two goals in quick succession near the end of the first-half for the away side ensured they secured all three points.

Glory coach John Gibson said that his side was fantastic and deserved the victory in a tough match.

“I thought the young boys were very good tonight,” he said. “They moved the ball well, and had to deal with an Armadale team which was high in confidence after their recent results in the Night Series.

“Armadale had a bit of a resurgence towards the back end of the second-half that could have really cost us to be honest because we didn’t capitalise when we were in front of goal.

“But overall I thought that we were magnificent all over the park and it’s nice that the boys can be rewarded with a big win.”

Armadale started the first-half positively and were rewarded with a goal from a set piece.

Jordan Pavett took the free-kick and it found Costello whose faint header guided the ball into the back of the net, giving Armadale the lead.

The home side’s joy was short lived however, as the Glory equalised less than 10 minutes after they had conceded.

In a counter-attacking move, Glory captain Daniel Stynes played Bayley Montgomery-Brown through on goal.

Montgomery-Brown’s shot was deflected off Armadale’s keeper and eventually cleared off the goal-line by a defender, but only as far as Stynes who levelled the scores.

It only got worse for Armadale when they conceded a penalty just five minutes later with Costello holding his man inside the box.

Kosta Petratos stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake, giving his side a valuable lead.

The Glory came close to doubling their lead in the second-half when Walter Scott found Montgomery-Brown in the box.

Montgomery-Brown’s shot from an angle hit the woodwork, keeping Armadale in the game.

However, it was not to be for Armadale as they could not convert a flurry of set pieces at the death which included a 92nd minute corner from Pavett.

The ball made its way to Dannie Richman at the far post who then crossed the ball to Costello, but his header went over the bar, sealing the home side’s fate.

Despite the defeat, Armadale coach John O’Reilly took some positives from the game, but admitted there is room for improvement.

“Over the 90 minutes I won’t say that my side was disappointing,” he said.

“But I think there were times where we could have been more switched on and more disciplined.

“In terms of holding a defensive shape, I thought that we did well because they only had one shot on target prior to the penalty.

“The way the game panned out in the end, I don’t think either team particularly deserved to win the game.

“So if we did manage to nick a goal in the end, I would have thought a draw would be a fair result but unfortunately it wasn’t to be today.”

Armadale 1 (Costello 24min)
Perth Glory 2 (Stynes 32min, Petratos 37)
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Alfred Skeet Reserve
Kick-off: 7.00pm
Referee: Tom Dowle
Assistants Referees: Arvin Shanmuganathan, Robert Read

Armadale: GK. Michael CRAGGS, 2. Dylan WHITE, 3. Jake SARDELIC, 4. Nathan COSTELLO (C), 8. Jordan PAVETT, 9. Kyle KING, 10. Jackson BEALEY (12. Josh TUMOE 53’), 11. Dannie RICHMAN, 14. Tristan TAYLOR, 16. David ANNALL (6. Faustinho MACHOCHI 68’), 17. James ATKINS (7. Milan OGNJENOVIC  68’)
Substitutes not used:  5. Sam LOVELESS, 23. Alec RADONICH
Yellow card: Costello 36’, Annall 52’, Bealey 52’, Ognjenovic 77’
Red cards: nil

Perth Glory: GK. Jordan THURTELL, 2. Walter SCOTT, 3. Luca BODNAR, 4. Jack IREDALE, 5. Ollie ANNIS, 6. Sam RIAK, 7. Yacoub MUSTAFA, 8. Jack LEECH (13. Callum TIMMINS 52’), 9. Bayley MONTGOMERY-BROWN (12. Micheal MCDOUGALL 74’), 10. Daniel STYNES (C), 11. Kosta PETRATOS
Substitutes not used: 14. Callum DOBBS, 15. Jordan POKLER, 20. Stef KING
Yellow cards: Iredale 52’
Red cards: nil