Perth Glory 2-1 Wellington Phoenix
Report by Ben Gilby – EXCLUSIVE photography from Rob Lizzi at the Sam Kerr Football Centre (16/2/25).
Above: Perth Glory co-captain Onyi Zogg involved in a close-range battle with Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Carolina Vilão. Photo: Rob Lizzi for Impetus.
Perth Glory gained an excellent three points against Finals hopefuls Wellington Phoenix in the battle between the two most geographically separated teams in any of the globe’s domestic leagues.
With the New Zealand side positioned in the log jam of teams looking to make the top six and Glory only two points above bottom spot going into the encounter, there was clearly a lot to play for.
Perth went into the game with another addition to their injury list, with goalkeeper Casey Dumont ruled out with an Achilles injury, leading to Miranda Templeman starting and her fellow Western Australian, 17-year-old Jess Skinner, an NTC graduate, coming in as substitute goalkeeper. Also ruled out was Izzy Foletta. Phoenix were without their in-form 21-year-old attacker Alyssa Whinham.
There was some positive news though for the home side, with the eagerly awaited return to the starting line-up of long-term injury victims Kelli Brown and Sarah O’Donoghue.
The clash was open and full of opportunities from the start. The home side created their first chance with seven minutes on the clock. Templeman’s long clearance took a deflection off a Phoenix midfielder and broke for Caitlin Doeglas to run through unmarked in to lift the ball only just over the top.
O’Donoghue’s absence through injury had a huge impact on the Glory squad as the youngster had been a key part of the team’s creativity and attack. It didn’t take her long to prove her worth yet again.
Shortly after Doeglas’ near miss, O’Donoghue broke through and laid off to Brown outside her on the right-hand side of the box but the former Wellington attacker couldn’t sort her feet out in time to get sufficient power into her shot but still earned a corner.
The Nix showed their attacking prowess with 12 minutes gone as Manaia Elliott broke through to curl a shot from the edge of the box to the right of centre that Templeman kept out with a diving save towards the far post.
Whilst Wellington have looked consistently impressive coming forward this season, they have been prone to errors in possession at the back, and they were caught out again. Brown took advantage on the right to lay off a low pass to Izzy Dalton centrally positioned outside the box to fire in a shot that came crashing off the crossbar with Vilão beaten.
The end-to-end nature of the encounter struck again immediately afterwards as the impressive Annalie Longo played a perfectly weighted ball through for Olivia Fergusson to enter the box with the goal at her mercy, but she placed her shot well wide of the left-hand post. Former Glory attacker Grace Jale also saw a shot hit the side netting.
However, just after the half-hour mark, Perth hit the front, and it was O’Donoghue who showed her worth once more as she laid a low ball across for Dalton to take a touch and then direct the ball into the net.
Seven minutes from the break, the Glory almost doubled their lead. O’Donoghue squared the ball across the box from the right, Dalton in the centre laid it off in turn to Doeglas who saw her shot come off the bar for the second time in the opening half.
However, those narrow margins came back to haunt the home side almost a minute into stoppage time. Another intelligent run and perfectly weighted pass through from Longo took out the Perth defence and allowed Fergusson to slide her shot home.
Longo’s vision produced another golden opportunity with the final shot of the half as she found Elliott superbly only for her effort to hit the bar.
Wellington had another opportunity to hit the front within 60 seconds of the second-half opening when Templeman’s attempted clearance went straight to Fergusson, but the Perth keeper was able to redeem herself in time.
The visitors continued to dominate the opening stages of the second half, creating several half chances, most notably from a corner with 55 minutes played which came in from the right. It caused an almighty scramble with both Mackenzie Barry and Daisy Brazendale turning the ball goalwards before O’Donoghue cleared the danger for Perth.
Perth then came close themselves from a similar game of penalty box pinball that followed Dalton’s corner from the right. The home side began to get more of a foothold into the battle once more, and they were rewarded for their efforts with just under 20 minutes remaining.
Megan Wynne broke along the right and threaded a low ball into the mix. Under huge pressure from Brown breathing down her neck from behind, Tiana Jaber put the ball into her own net. The Glory haven’t been on the receiving end of much luck this season, but this was a reward for their application and belief.
With 12 minutes left, Perth could have wrapped up the win as Brown’s free-kick from the left caused panic in the Wellington defence and Wynne had two bites of the cherry to score, but couldn’t force the ball home.
The Glory managed the remaining time of the match well to record their fourth win of the season and move up to ninth place, with a five-point cushion now between themselves and bottom side Sydney FC.
For Wellington Phoenix, this defeat puts a dent in their top-six hopes, with Paul Temple’s side now four points outside of the Finals spots.
Check out more of Rob Lizzi’s exclusive images across two separate galleries for Impetus from the Sam Kerr Football Centre on our Instagram page now – @ImpetusFootball
Teams: PERTH GLORY (4-3-3): Templeman, McKenna, Zogg, Chinnama, Johnston, Tathem, O’Donoghue, Dalton, Wynne, Brown, Doeglas. Substitutes: Abdul-Massih, Skinner, Roberts, Sunaga, Wainwright.
Scorers: Dalton 31′, Jaber (OG) 71′.
WELLINGTON PHOENIX (4-4-2): Vilão, Jaber, Barry, Kelly, Wall, McCutcheon, Longo, Brazendale, Jale, Elliott, Fergusson. Substitutes: Abbott, Jerez, Main, McMeeken, Neary.
Scorers: Fergusson 45+1′
Referee: Molly Godsell.
Attendance: 880.
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