A spectacular long range strike from Perth Glory skipper Rostyn Griffiths has inspired his side to a 2-1 comeback win over the Phoenix at nib Stadium on Thursday night.
In a match vital for both side’s finals aspirations the visitors took an early lead via the boot of Roy Krishna, with the Phoenix striker earning the distinction of netting the 4000th goal in Hyundai A-League history.
However just as Wellington looked to take a deserved lead into the break, Griffiths’ thunderbolt squared the ledger and brought the home fans to life.
Glory striker Adam Taggart nodded home what proved to be the winner shortly after the re-start, while Wellington’s bid to stage a fightback were hampered by the sending off of Krishna with half hour to play.
There was some late drama as the rain began to pelt down in Perth, with Andy Keogh fortunate to remain on the field after an altercation with Marco Rossi, while Andrew Durante was ropeable after he had his shouts for a last gasp penalty waved away.
The result sees Glory close the gap to fourth placed Melbourne City to three points, while the Phoenix remain in eighth spot following their first loss since Des Buckingham and Chris Greenacre took charge of the club.
Catch up with all the action at the match centre
GOALS
0-1 Wellington Phoenix: Roy Krishna, 11’
A Shane Smeltz pass invited Krishna to charge into the box, with the Fijian international able to squeeze his low shot past Liam Reddy, who’ll feel culpable for the goal.
1-1 Perth Glory: Rostyn Griffiths, 45+1’
The ball broke for the Glory skipper on the cusp of half-time, with Griffiths firing a rocket from 25 yards out that thundered past Glen Moss and into the top corner.
2-1 Perth Glory: Adam Taggart, 51’
Andy Keogh was played into space by Diego Castro before whipping in a cross for Taggart who nodded home from close range to register his fifth goal of the campaign.
OPTA DATA
- Newly installed Wellington boss Des Buckingham officially became the youngest Head Coach in Hyundai A-League history.
- Roy Krishna’s opener was his 24th goal for Wellington Phoenix taking him to outright second on their all-time scoring chart behind Paul Ifill (33).
- The result was Perth Glory’s fourth straight win over the Phoenix.
RED CARD
Roy Krishna was shown a straight red card for leaving his studs in on defender Shane Lowry, forcing the Phoenix to play the final half hour with 10-men.
CROWD
9210 @ nib Stadium
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