Report by Jayden Lihou

Perth Glory held off Cockburn City after nearly squandering a three goal advantage as they defeated Cockburn 3-2 in round 13 of the PS4 NPLWA at Dalmatinac Park on Saturday.

The away-side were leading 3-0 in the 80th minute but two goals in quick succession from Cockburn put them within touching distance.

The Cockerels were unable to find the equaliser, giving Glory their first win in six matches.  

Perth Glory coach John Gibson said his side put in a good performance but admitted his team could have managed the final stages of the game better.

“It’s not very often that we go 3-0 up, but the boys switched off as a collective and didn’t manage the end of the game very well,” he said.

“In the end we just conceded two soft goals but we took our opportunities today and I’m just happy the boys were rewarded for their performance.

After a tightly contested start to the first half, Perth Glory found themselves 1-0 up in the 36th minute after captain Daniel Stynes curled the ball into the back of the net from outside the box.  

Joseph Knowles doubled his side’s lead in the 66th minute when he headed home a cross from teammate Bayley Brown-Montgomery.

The Glory were cruising when they made it 3-0 in the 72nd minute after Michael McDougall made his way into the box.

McDougall squared the ball to fellow substitute Michael Domfeh who found the bottom corner.

Cockburn finally got off the mark in the 81st minute after Brandon Wilson fouled substitute Julian Teles from just outside the box.

Calvin Whitney stepped up to take the free-kick and curled it around the wall and into the back of the net to give the home fans some hope.

The Cockerels scored another four minutes later with the help of yet another substitute as Ryan Pratt cut the ball back to Daniel Robinson who made no mistake.

The home-side pushed hard in the final stages of the match to find the third goal, but Glory’s defence held strong.

Cockburn assistant coach Andrew Thorburn said that cheap goals were to blame for his side’s defeat.

“At the end of the day silly goals and missed chances cost us, but when you go 3-0 down it’s always going to be hard to get yourself back in the game.

“This result is just another setback for us, but I’m sure we can bounce back in our FFA Cup game next week.”

Cockburn City 2 (Whitney 81min, Robinson 85)
Perth Glory  3 (Stynes 36min, Knowles 66, Domfeh 72)
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Dalmatinac Park
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Referee:  Matthew Southern
Assistant Referees: Shane Skinner, Amit Hosany

Cockburn City: GK. Luke RADONICH, 2. Joshua KUSER, 3. Daniel DOLS, 6. Reuben TRISTAO, 8. Cameron EDWARDS (C), 9. Daniel ROBINSON, 11. Harry O’BRIEN (14. Julian TELES 74’), 13. Blake ADAMS, 16. Calvin WHITNEY, 17. Daniel SANTICH, 18. Aden DA LUZ (7. Ryan PRATT 69’)
Substitutes not used: RGK. Ryan BARKER, 12. Kenel MOUITHYS, 15. Losene DULLEN
Yellow Cards: nil
Red Cards: nil

Perth Glory: GK. Jackson LEE, 2. Riley WARLAND, 3. Hayden STEVENS (12. Michael MCDOUGALL 30’), 4. Callum TIMMINS, 5. Cam MURRAY, 6. Jack LEECH, 7. Bayley BROWN-MONTGOMERY, 8. Brandon WILSON, 9. Joe KNOWLES, 10. Daniel STYNES (C) (14. Michael DOMFEH 50’), 11. Kosta PETRATOS
Substitutes not used: RGK. Kyle MCDONALD, 13. Joe MARIO, 15. Liam MURRAY
Yellow Cards: Brown-Montgomery 45+1’
Red Cards: nil