Perth Glory has cemented their place in the top four of the National Youth League after an impressive 2-1 win over Newcastle at Members Equity Stadium on Sunday.
Perth Glory has cemented their place in the top four of the National Youth League after an impressive 2-1 win over Newcastle at Members Equity Stadium on Sunday.
The young stars worked hard in warm and sticky conditions to give the home town crowd plenty to cheer about in an entertaining match played at a frenetic pace.
Glory midfielder Reece Vittiglia opened the scoring in the 54th minute, rifling the ball home to take a well earned lead, however the advantage wasn-t enjoyed for long as the Jets leveled just two minutes later.
Perth though weren-t to be outdone and their attacking efforts were rewarded in the closing stages when they earned a penalty and striker Anthony Skorich duly converted to give the home side all three points.
“The result is nice for the players while for us as coaches it-s another opportunity to see them in a match environment and then focus on trying to get the individual performances up week in and week out,” Naven said.
“We saw some good things today and some other things that need some attention but it is a work in progress and we-ll continue to help all the players develop,” Naven added.
In a scoreless, but competitive first half, Glory gradually assumed control of possession and started mounting attacks forays with skipper Andrija Jukic sending a snap shot wide of the left upright in the 28th minute after receiving a ball that pinged rapidly around the penalty area.
Ryan Pearson missed a good chance three minutes later while striker Eli Babalj, a late call-up for the hosts, sent a powerful header over the bar eight minutes before the break.
On the stroke of half-time the Glory missed a well crafted opportunity to open the scoring when Jets’ stopper Jordan Griffiths failed to grasp a free kick from Mark Lee which led to a furious scramble and a handball just outside the area by the Jets. But Griffiths atoned for his error, turning Vittiglia’s free kick around the upright to ensure a stalemate at the break.
Two minutes after the re-start Jets forward Bradie Mooy saw his shot saved by Glory stopper Dejan Aleksic before Jesper Hakansson sent a powerful half volley over the bar in the 54th minute.
The Glory though made good on their next attacking move with Pearson doing well to hold the ball up and then pass it off for Vittiglia who smashed a stinging shot below the keeper.
“All week we worked on being more dynamic when we attacked and today I think we showed that, we started hitting the ball well had a few good attacks and fortunately enough for me I got the goal,” Vittiglia said.
The hosts only led for two minutes before the Jets equalised, James Virgili running onto a great through ball through the middle and accelerating into space before lobbing the ball over Aleksic.
Perth gained the upper hand when Newcastle-s Taylor Regan was dismissed for a deliberate handball in the area with 15 minutes remaining. Referee Troy Miller pointed to the spot and Skorich blasted the ball home confidently for his first goal of the National Youth League season.
National Youth League – Rd 7
Perth Glory 2 (Reece Vittiglia 54-, Anthony Skorich 76-(pen))
Newcastle Jets 1 (James Virgili 56-)
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Referee: Troy Miller
Assistant Referees: Josh Mihevc & Josh Manella
Fourth Official: David Costello
Perth Glory: 1.Dejan ALEKSIC (gk) (40.Alex PEARSON (gk) 56-), 2.Ryan PEARSON, 3.Scott NEVILLE, 4.Liam HARVEY (15.Lewis HALL 54-), 5.Hayden DOYLE, 6.Dean EVANS, 10.Adam LUCA (7.James SAMMUT 54-), 13.Andrija JUKIC, 12.Reece VITTIGLIA,18.Mark LEE (OA), 19.Eli BABAJI (9.Anthony SKORICH 52-)
Yellow Cards: Scott Neville 38-, Dean Evans 59-, James Sammut 69.
Red Cards: Nil
Newcastle Jets: 1.Jordan GRIFFITHS (gk), 2.Antun KOVACIC (OA), 3.Jarrad ROSS, 4.George STROGYLOS (14.Joel WITHERDIN 56-), 5.Jon GRIFFITHS (15.Ivan PAVLAK 50-), 6.Taylor REGAN (c), 7.Adrian KARAKOLEVSKI (12.Simon MOONEY 54-), 8.Matt HARPER, 9.Brodie MOOY, 10.Jesper HAKANSSON, 11.James VIRGILLI
Yellow Cards: Jon Griffiths 19-, Taylor Regan 25-/75-, George Strogylos 27-, Jarrad Ross 44-.
Red Cards: Taylor Regan 75-
