Glory edged out in season opener

Gareth Morgan

A second-half effort from Sulejman Krpic proved the difference between the two sides as Glory were edged out 1-0 by Western Sydney Wanderers in a hard-fought season-opener at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.

A much-changed Glory side featuring seven new faces in the starting eleven and another five on the bench went toe-to-toe with the hosts throughout an evenly-contested first half which was largely devoid of clear-cut chances.

When the game did open up after the break, it was Wanderers who found a way through, Brandon Borrello and Gabriel Cleur combining to create a chance for Krpic who nodded home.

The hosts were denied a second goal ten minutes later as Liam Reddy produced a stunning, one-handed block to stop Krpic’s penalty and buoyed by that, Glory very nearly claimed a share of the spoils when Aaron McEneff’s fierce strike was kept out of the net by a fingertip save from Lawrence Thomas.

While acknowledging that his side were not at their best as an attacking force, Head Coach Ruben Zadkovich was pleased with several other aspects of the performance.

“I thought we lacked a bit of creativity in the front third,”

“It was nice to get another game and it showed that we were definitely rusty in the combinations going forward and missed some cues and moments to get in behind.

“We didn’t take those opportunities in the front third or execute very well, but the big positive was that we competed really well and were solid defensively."

Perth are back in action on Saturday taking on the Newcastle Jets.

IMAGE: Perth Glory