Perth Glory has gone down 2-1 against Central Coast Mariners in their Round 6 clash in the Westfield W-League.
Goals from Lydia Vanderbergh and Michelle Heyman put the visitors 2-0 up before Glory starlet Marianna Tabain pulled one back in the final half hour to set up a rousing end to the match.
Perth coach John Gibson wasn’t happy with the result, but was pleased with the team’s effort after last week’s 6-0 thumping by Brisbane Roar.
“We were certainly looking for a good reaction from last week’s disappointing performance,” he said.
“In the second half we came out and had a real crack but then again conceded two really soft goals.
“You are always going to get punished at this level when you make silly mistakes.
“I’m more than proud of the girls’ response from last week’s efforts.”
The match began with simple passing errors costing Perth, as the home side gave away possession too easy.
A cheeky shot over the shoulder from Ashleigh Connor in the opening stages gave the home fans a fright, before Glory ‘keeper Emma Wirkus read the ball and saved the danger.
It didn’t take long for the Mariners presence up front to be felt as the second-best scoring team in the League grabbed the opener.
Michelle Heyman’s cross for Lydia Vanderbergh was enough to separate both sides, as the latter broke between two defenders to finish her shot into the roof of the net.
Perth came back using several long-balls forward, but lacked the presence of Lisa De Vanna up front as the Matildas star began from the bench.
Katarina Jukic gave Mariners ‘keeper Jillian Loyden a scare when the Glory forward nearly pounced on the loose ball fumbled by Loyden.
Fortunately for the visitors, Loyden recovered to rescue her side.
The Mariners continued to press forward and a long-range effort from Connor curled just wide of the far post as Wirkus trailed back to block her goal.
Heyman continued to be lively for the visitors and nearly doubled her side’s lead before the half with a glancing header at the near post following an inch-perfect cross from Samantha Spackman.
The introduction of De Vanna sparked a Glory revival and early in the second half saw the talismanic striker nearly equalise.
As she broke away from the Mariners defence, she opened up her body to try and finish in the bottom left corner, but she miscued her kick and skewed it wide of goal.
A poor back pass from Glory captain Tanya Oxtoby resulted in the Mariners’ second goal, as Heyman pounced on the ball and powered it into the back of the net, despite Wirkus getting a hand to it and pushing it onto the upright.
Perth responded in a matter of minutes through Marianna Tabain, as the young forward coolly slotted past Loyden to make the final 30 minutes an interesting contest.
Missed chances from the Mariners’ Kelly Golebiowski and Connor should have increased the margin, but were unable to capitalise with poor finishing a problem.
Gibson tried a new strategy in the first half with stars De Vanna and Ella Mastrantonio on the bench and believes it was a success.
“We had a bit of a game plan as well and the girls certainly know how that game plan was going to unfold,” he said.
“It actually worked pretty well.
“Again when you are starting to get down to your bare bones you have to be creative with what you are doing.”
Another concern for Gibson would be Elisa D’Ovidio requiring a stretcher from the ground in the final minutes.
Perth will now travel to McKellar Park to take on Canberra United, while Central Coast Mariners will take on Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium.
– Football West
