A stunning strike from Tomi Mrcela and an own-goal from Jordan Elsey helped Glory secure a 2-2 with Adelaide United in Wednesday’s behind-closed-doors friendly at Coopers Stadium.
Elsey inadvertently volleyed Fabio Ferreira’s cross past Paul Izzo in the home goal to gift the visitors the lead after 11 minutes and Mrcela duly made it 2-0 with a fierce half-volley from outside the area.
A Ken Ilso penalty just before the break halved the arrears, however and sixty seconds later, fellow-new-recruit Mirko Boland found the net with a low shot to lock it up at 2-2.
Chances were fewer and further between in the second half, although Liam Reddy was called upon to deny George Blackwood at close-range with a fine save on the hour-mark.
The game marked a significant ramping up of Glory’s pre-season preparations and Head Coach Tony Popovic drew plenty of positives from it.
“Ultimately, it was about playing an A-League opponent which is a tough thing to do for us, we accept that,” he said. “These games are very beneficial for us.
“We travelled today and the boys’ attitude was excellent and I thought they performed very well.
“It’s clear that we’re making progress. We were up 2-0 which was very good and aspects of our game, both in attack and defensively, were also very good.
“Ok, we gave two cheap goals away just before half time which may have been due to a bit of fatigue and a lack of concentration, but this was a game against the kind of opposition that we haven’t faced since Melbourne Victory in the FFA Cup.
“It was a satisfying night in terms of the game, the performance, the result and the fact that we didn’t pick up any injuries.
“We really appreciate the club making it possible for us to travel over here and would like to thank Adelaide for the hit-out.
“Now we head home, recover, tick off more progress in our playing style, work hard and keep improving as we continue to close in on the Round One game against Western Sydney.”
Match Details
Adelaide United 2 (Ilso (pen) 45′, Boland 45+1′) Perth Glory 2 (Elsey (o.g.) 11′, Mrcela 44′)
Half-time: 2-2
Adelaide United: 20.Paul IZZO, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 4.Ryan STRAIN, 6.Vince LIA, 8.ISAIAS, 10.Ken IISO, 14.George BLACKWOOD, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 23.Jordan ELSEY, 26.Ben HALLORAN, 31.Mirko BOLAND
Substitutes: 2.Michael MARRONE, 9.Baba DIAWARA, 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 27.Louis D’ARRIGO, 28.Kristin KONSTANDOPOULOS, 30.Isaac RICHARDS (GK), 33.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS, 39.Carlo ARMIENTO
Perth Glory: 33.Liam REDDY, 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jason DAVIDSON, 4.Shane LOWRY, 7.Joel CHIANESE , 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 17.Diego CASTRO, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 27.JUANDE, 88.Neil KILKENNY
Substitutes: 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 14.Chris HAROLD, 19.Chris IKONOMIDIS, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 23.Scott NEVILLE
#OneGlory
With thanks to Sam Lacey and Jordan Trombetta at Adelaide United FC
