Ever seen a rabbit trying to get out of a shooter's spotlight? Or one of those movies where the prisoner faces a firing squad, but somehow everyone misses?
Well, it was bit like that watching Wolves tonight get out of the game by the skin of their teeth.
The onslaught from an increasingly desperate Perth at the end of the second half was stunning. For Wolves fans the three minutes extra time lasted an eternity.
But Wollongong got away with it. Again. For the second week running the lowly former champions have knocked off the team at the top of the table.
And again credit must go the magnificent Andrew Crews. "Who was that gloved man?" The stunned Glory fans were asking in the gents' loos. If they didn't know who he was before they ventured east, they surely do now.
Wolves, particularly Stuart Young, missed some chances, but nothing compared the chances Glory threw away. And nothing compared to the many times Crews denied shots that would have beaten most keepers; shots even he was letting in earlier this season.
At the other end Jason Petkovic was having a miserable night. Starting, of course, with letting a Young shot slip through is fingers - at 1'46'' by my stopwatch.
Perth attacked from Wolves' kick off. And a Bobby Despotovski cross was deflected towards the Wolves goal, requiring Crews to make his first save.
It had rained heavily during the day, and a light rain had fallen before the start of the match. The fact the ground was wet and the ball slippery aided and abetted Young. And confounded Petkovic. Young leaned over and cracked a low left foot shot from 25 metres. It was a good effort, but everyone, Young and Petkovic included, must have expected Petkovic to hold it easily. Just nobody told the ball.
The home team had taken a sensational lead.
A couple of minutes later Young should have doubled the score. Michael Hawrysiuk took a long throw into the Glory penalty area. Chimaobi Nwaogazi got a touch on at the near post and the ball fell to Young who had one stab blocked but found the ball again at his feet and pretty much an open goal before him. But he stabbed again, with his right foot, past the left upright. And the goal went begging.
For the first quarter of an hour Wolves looked to be doing all right. Jacob Timpano wasn't intimidated by Despotovski. Crews wasn't intimidated by Damian Mori closing in on him.
Mark Byrnes was keeping Nwaogazi under control, but Nahuel Arrarte looked cool and composed, distributing the ball from midfield.
Young had a good moment, deceiving three Glory players before skimming the ball through to Hawrysiuk, who Wolves fans thought was held back as he chased into the penalty area.
By the 12th minute Perth were seeing more of the ball. The visitors used Bradley Hassell on the left; he got the ball to Scott Miller who had his shot blocked, but Wolves had some uncomfortable seconds before they could clear.
Byrnes was again good beating Nwaogazi.
A Despotovski corner (he had a lot of practice at corner taking this night) was double-fisted away by Crews but Perth still had a shot wide of goal.
Despotovski got his head under a long, high ball into the Wollongong penalty area but could only pop it up for Crews.
Wolves' Adam Hughes hit a good ball wide to Timpano, but Timpano couldn't do the same for Hawrysiuk. Then Young executed a neat flick that almost did get Hawrysiuk through.
A Jade North cross was deflected for a corner, in turn headed back in from the right. Crews just managed to dig out a soft shot on target. And then Crews fisted another corner around the post.
So, in the 22nd minute, Despotovski had another corner, this one headed firmly on target. Crews made a great save and Borislav Dragas cleared. But Perth had still another corner. This time Crews could catch the ball and Wolves were safe.
In the 25th minute Matt Horsley and Tom Pondeljak traded passes on the right until Pondeljak took a long shot into the side netting.
Jade North was good on Stewart van Bentum.
Despotovski laid off wide for North whose shot was blocked but won Perth another corner which was only cleared as far as Pondeljak. Pondeljak, running from deep as is his wont, played to Matthew Bingley, got the return in the Wolves box but shot wide left.
North got a good run into the right of the Wollongong penalty area but pumped the ball too hard, to the far sideline.
On the half hour Timpano went in hard on Hassell 25 metres from the Wollongong goal. Despotovski laid the free kick off to Mori whose shot wide was deflected for another corner. Wolves cleared but Mori soon won another corner off Hughes. Wolves cleared to Miller whose high ball to goal hit the side netting.
Wolves almost fluked another goal when a cross from Young to Nwaogazi went straight through and called a diving save from a surprised Petkovic.
Clumsiness from the lanky Dragas conceded another free kick to Glory, this time at the left corner of the Wolves area. Despotovski's shot swung through the crowded box and just wide of the right post.
The Hassell-Miller combination again worked well, getting Despotovski into the Wolves area, but Crews was down to stop him.
In the 36th minute Horsley, to the dismay of Wollongong and Perth fans, was stretchered off with a knee injury that could mark an early end to his season. He was replaced by Gary Faria.
Hawrysiuk had a good chase on a long ball but Petkovic met him on the edge of the Glory penalty area.
Crews made an excellent double-fisted clearance on a cross from Mori.
And just before the end of the first half Crews made a great close-range save to deny North. Blake cleared the shot from the rebound. Pondeljak made another run, this time from the back line, feeding the midfield and collecting the return for another shot, again just left of goal. Dragas was neat beating Mori and, at the other end, an Arrarte lob forced Petkovic to back-pedal and touch the ball over the crossbar.
It was raining hard for the commencement of the second half. Danial Cummins replaced Timpano.
Shaun Murphy was good stopping Young, and Miller, attacking from the left, beat Cummins and struck a great shot which called another fine save from Crews.
Faria played down the line to Despotovski whose near-post cross was collected by Crews. Hassell was good mopping up van Bentum. Mori centred to Pondeljak who set up a shot for Faria across the face and wide to the right of goal. Wolves got a break thanks to a poor Perth pass. Young hit the ball towards Arrarte on the right but Miller was too quick for him. Shane Lyons was doing well against Faria.
In the 55th minute, with Wolves winning a throw after a Perth error on Wolves' left, Nwaogazi beat the hapless Petkovic with a low shot off the left upright. Somehow Wolves were two-nil up. The meagre crowd erupted.
Perth started looking unsettled. The inevitable equaliser would not now be enough. Wolves, meanwhile, could afford to be a little cocky.
Arrarte played right to Nwaogazi whose cross found Arrarte who headed left of goal. Lyons was doing great spoiling the efforts of North and Faria.
A Perth corner from the left was headed just past the right upright - but Arrarte was on hand to see it safely away. van Bentum got the ball to Arrarte whose cross from the left was stopped by Byrnes. A long, low shot from Hughes was not held by Petkovic.
Perth got back into the corner routine, a long one finding Byrnes who directed back into the fray. Crews cleaned up the mess.
Hawrysiuk made a long, successful run, looking for space to let fly, but his last touch let him down.
North played wide to Faria whose cross was good and met with a header saved by Crews.
In the 67th minute Arrarte was brilliant, playing through the middle as if to shoot but instead feeding Young. The Wollongong captain had a fabulous chance but, even on his left foot, shot wide of goal.
Perth's goal followed a rare Wollongong defensive error. Hughes gave the ball away to Despotovski. Dragas initially stopped Despotovski but the ball came through for the unmarked Mori who demonstrated how strikers are supposed to bury balls in the back of the net. Clinical. Lovely.
Young had a long shot that Petkovic managed to hold. Lyons broke down the left and hit a great switch to Young in a marvellous position. But Young's first touch sucked. Ben Blake soon played a similar ball to Young in less space. Young beat his marker but his right foot shot was not strong enough to trouble Petkovic.
Crews went up well to hold a Perth cross. Despotovski and Mori combined to provide for Miller who chipped over the crossbar.
Dragas was good holding off Mori and winning a free kick. Blake made a top tackle on Nick Mrdja and then was great blocking a Bingley shot. Mori hit the ball over the crossbar from three metres.
Young and Steven DeGiovianniello did some good work down the right, DeGiovianniello winning a corner. Dragas got up and won another corner. DeGiovianniello had a shot that ended up with Young shooting wide right.
Mori was very good beating Lyons and van Bentum on the right of the Wollongong penalty area. His cross almost succeeded in finding Mrdja but Crews got down in time and held.
A Lyons tackle cut out Faria. Dragas was crucial for Wolves near the end, winning several Perth crosses and corners.
In the 89th minute Perth had the perfect chance to equalise. Pondeljak pulled the ball back from the goal line but, with Crews down and out of the way, Faria scooped high.
Hughes conceded a soft corner and Bingley acrobatically hit Perth's last shot way too high.
Dragas, Blake and Crews were fantastic; but with Glory's formidable, sweeping attacks it was a miracle that Wolves held on. Mori and Pondeljak were frightening with the ball at their feet. And whenever a cross seemed likely there were half a dozen purple and white shirts running in a rank to meet it.
However frustrating it was for the visitors, it was an awesome display.
Reflecting on his team's sudden giant killing status Wollongong coach John Turner said he didn't think many clubs would take six points off Power and Glory. He attributed the successes to some changes, including the decision to play zonal football.
He said it was a good time to strike Perth, when the Wolves players were feeling confident after their victory against Parramatta. "We're on fire at the moment. The boys are starting to believe in themselves. We lost a couple of games here by the odd penalty. We had some losses and the boys started to doubt themselves. But I think they've bounced back now."
He said Crews was fantastic, but that's what he expected of someone with his ability. He said, "For our part it wasn't pretty out there. It was quite ugly. But the point was we got the three points. For half an hour there in the second half, especially when Perth got their goal, we were chasing shadows. It came down to whether we were going to guts it out or not guts it out."
Perth coach Mitch d'Avray said his team paid the price for starting so slowly. "For the first 15 minutes there was only one team who wanted to play. We had the blunder and picked up the tempo. But sometimes you can't always do that; you can't always go through the gears in football. You have to start well, and we paid the price here tonight."
He said he was happy as long as Glory created the chances. "We have the personnel, the players, who will convert them on another night. But it's been a great week for Wolves and good luck to them." He said he still considered Parramatta the benchmark in the league.