Two goals in the final five minutes from new signing Michael Baird has helped Perth Glory beat Adelaide United 3-1 in a pre-season friendly at Hindmarsh stadium.
Two goals in the final five minutes from new signing Michael Baird has helped Perth Glory beat Adelaide United 3-1 in a pre-season friendly at Hindmarsh stadium.
Baird struck in the 86th and 89th minutes after Sergio van Dijk equalised for the Reds late in the second half.
“We-re not getting away with the result,” was the reaction of Coach Dave Mitchell.
“There was a lot of pleasing things about the performance but also a few things we-re not pleased with so we-ve still got some work to do.
“Adelaide are a decent side with a new coach who were keen to impress and it was a tough game.
“For us it was a fitness game, a good chance to get some mileage in the legs and another 90 minutes under our belt.
“It-s good both strikers scored, they worked hard but Naum Sekulovski was also outstanding along with Tando Velaphi.”
Despite missing Robbie Fowler, Andy Todd, Victor Sikora and Steven McGarry, Perth took the lead on 17 minutes when a smart build up from the left saw the ball slide across the face of goal, where Branko Jelic was on hand to finish from six yards.
The Reds- first and best chance of the half came in the 26th minute when a short Lucas Pantelis free kick from the left reached van Dijk, but the imposing Dutchman could not get a firm enough purchase on his swinging effort, as the ball was easily tipped over the bar by Glory ‘keeper Velaphi.
But Adelaide did equalise in the 77th minute when van Dijk launched a missile from 30 metres, the venom in the shot giving Velaphi no chance.
With the Reds- pressing for a second, the home side narrowly missed a number of opportunities to find a winner, but the intent to go forward left gaps at the back and Baird took full advantage, netting a late brace.
The Glory open their 2010/11 Hyundai A-League campaign on Friday 6 August against the North Queensland Fury at nib Stadium (formerly ME Bank Stadium). Kick-off is at 8pm
The match is only 14 days. The countdown continues.
Match Details
Adelaide United FC 1 (van Dijk 77-)
Perth Glory 3 (Jelic 17-, Baird 86-/89-)
Referee: Steven Toth
Crowd: 1,833 @ Hindmarsh Stadium
Adelaide United line-up: 40.Takumi TAKAHASHI (gk), 3.Nigel BOOGAARD, 4.Iain FYFE, 5.Daniel MULLEN, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS, 8.Adam HUGHES, 9.Sergio VAN DIJK, 10.Marcos FLORES, 12.Paul REID, 16.Inseob SHIN (17.Iain RAMSAY 46-)
Substitutes not used: 24.Matt MULLEN, 25.Alex SUNASKY, 26.Dane MILOVANOVIC, 27.Brett RAYNER, 30.Nick MUNRO
Yellow Cards: Fyfe 52-
Perth Glory line-up:,/b> 1.Tando VELAPHI, 2.Josh MITCHELL, 3.Jamie COYNE, 5.Jamie HARNWELL (22.Anthony SKORICH 79-), 7.Jacob BURNS, 10.Michael BAIRD, 11.Branko JELIC, 12.Scott NEVILLE (23.Andrija JUKIC 79-), 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 21.Mile STERJOVSKI (24.Josh RISDON 75-)
Substitutes not used: 17.Todd HOWARTH, 20.Aleks VRTESKI (gk)
Yellow Cards: Baird 40-
