19-year-old forward Ciaran Bramwell and defender Darryl Lachman both scored their first A-League goals for the club as Glory survived losing Jonathan Aspropotamitis to a first-half red card to secure a gutsy 2-1 win over Newcastle Jets.
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Richard Garciá’s men opened up a two-goal lead inside the opening 24 minutes, Bramwell marking just his second senior start by stroking home a Bruno Fornaroli cross and Lachman meeting a Neil Kilkenny corner with an unstoppable header.
Any thoughts of a comfortable victory were quickly dispelled, however, as defender Aspropotamitis collected a second yellow for a foul on Ramy Najarine in the 35th minute.
The dangerous Roy O’Donovan then halved the arrears early in the second half and the Jets duly threw men forward in a bid to exploit their numerical advantage.
But a magnificent defensive display from the home side kept them at bay and Garcia was understandably quick to praise his players’ resolve.
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“It was a very brave performance and I hope for more of those brave performances,” he said.
“The courage they showed to defend for 70 minutes was fantastic.
“The spirit of the team and the willingness to work hard for each other was exactly what we’re after and they showed that as a team tonight.
“The whole squad has been in good mood this week, they’ve been very positive around the place and it was fantastic to see a bunch of guys really work hard for each other and dig deep in those final minutes and really push each other along.”
The drama began right from the outset with Connor O’Toole firing over the bar for the visitors in the seventh minute shortly after O’Donovan’s effort had been ruled out for offside.
Glory responded to that early scare in the best possible way, Diego Castro finding Fornaroli whose pass was dummied by Osama Malik allowing Bramwell to rifle home.
Malik then went close to doubling Glory’s lead, Lewis Italiano doing well to parry the midfielder’s fierce strike from the edge of the box, but there was nothing the former Glory ‘keeper could do to prevent Lachman from finding the net moments later.
Kilkenný’s corner delivery was inch-perfect and the Curacao international sent a powerful, downward header into the corner of the net.
Glory’s hopes of remaining in firm control of the game were severely dented just before the break when Aspropotamitis, who had been cautioned early in the half for an apparent trip on O’Donovan, received a second yellow after stopping Najarine in his tracks on the edge of the box.
And indeed Craig Deans’ side almost took advantage immediately, O’Toole’s cutback being met by a clever flick from O’Donovan which struck the bar and rebounded into the grateful arms of Liam Reddy.
The first chance of the second half also fell the way of the Jets, Valentino Yuel’s cross-shot threatening to creep into the far corner before Reddy made a crucial, one-handed intervention.
The visitors did manage to pull one back just shy of the hour-mark, however, O’Donovan improvising superbly to volley home a ball drilled into the box by Nikolai Topor-Stanley and set up a frantic final 30 minutes.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos fired wastefully over from close range, Malik produced a superb last-ditch block to prevent O’Donovan from tapping in Yuel’s cross and the Irishman then fizzed a low shot centimetres wide of the post.
But with Castro, Fornaroli and substitute Andy Keogh to the fore, Glory managed to successfully negotiate a tense finale and secure a fifth win of the season which lifts them to within one point of the top six.
Match Details
Perth Glory 2 (Bramwell 17′, Lachman 24′) Newcastle Jets 1 (O’Donovan 58′)
Half-time: 2-0
HBF Park, Perth
Referee: Daniel Elder
Perth Glory: 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 2.Jason GERIA (22.Josh RAWLINS 46′), 5.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 6.Osama MALIK, 8.Kosuke OTA, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 17.Diego CASTRO (C), 23.Dane INGHAM (15.Brandon WILSON 41′), 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 38.Ciaran BRAMWELL (10.Andy KEOGH 46′), 88.Neil KILKENNY
Substitutes not used: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 19.Callum TIMMINS, 20.Carlo ARMIENTO, 24.Daniel STYNES
Yellow Cards: Aspropotamitis, Malik, Reddy, Keogh
Red Cards: Aspropotamitis
Newcastle Jets: 1.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 6.Steven UGARKOVIC, 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 11.Ramy NAJJARINE (32.Angus THURGATE 70′), 16.Matt MILLAR, 17.Valentino YUEL, 21.Luka PRŠO (8.Liridon KRASNIQI 59′), 22.Lachlan JACKSON, 24.Connor O’TOOLE, 33.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS (3.Jason HOFFMAN 83′), 44.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY (c)
Substitutes not used: 14.Ali ABBAS, 23.Jack DUNCAN (gk), 51.Jordan LENNON
Yellow Cards: Prso
Red Cards: None
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