Andy Keogh's second-half winner helped a ten-man Perth Glory
complete their tainted campaign on a high with a 2-1 win at Western Sydney
Wanderers.
It was a resilient performance from the Glory who opened the
scoring early on through Jamie McLaren, only for A-League debutant Liam Youlley
to equalise soon after the break.
The result pushed Perth to 50 points and trailing leaders
Melbourne Victory only on goal difference, however the Glory's recent
high-profile salary cap infringement means they will be relegated to seventh
after the completion of this weekend's round.
And with the Wanderers guaranteed of finishing their
underachieving campaign in ninth position, little was riding on the result.
The match was delayed for 50 minutes after a torrent of
small hailstones carpeted the pitch following a heavy storm which moved across
Sydney half an hour before kick-off.
In truth it was only modest Anzac Day entertainment offered
up on a slippery pitch at Pirtek Stadium.
With Asian Champions League commitments looming the
Wanderers named four teenagers in their side including first-timer Youlley, and
Shayne D'Cunha who was making his maiden starting appearance.
Perth Glory started far better and Richard Garcia's looping
header hit the post, before the visitors took the lead on 17 minutes.
McLaren followed up last week's hat-trick with the opener
after profiting from Rostyn Griffiths' pass, and finishing with a low shot.
Wanderers failed to find any real rhythm until past the
half-hour mark with striker Kerem Bulut forcing a sharp save from Glory
custodian Danny Vukovic, while Steve Kuzmanovski did likewise soon after.
After the break Garcia deflected a wayward shot onto the
crossbar only for De Silva to wildly spoon the follow-up over in one of the
misses of the season.
Having threatened to go two goals clear, a poor lapse from
Glory allowed the Wanderers their equaliser as an unmarked Youlley drew his
side level with a low shot that took three deflections as it trickled through a
crowd of legs.
Keogh, however, had the final say midway through the second
half after directing an impressive first-time finish inside the far post
following superb lead-up from Josh Risdon.
Fullback Denis Kramer was then sent off after picking up two
soft cautions leaving Glory to hang on for the second win in three matches
since the salary cap penalties were announced.
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