A second half strike from captain Jamie Harnwell was enough to clinch a 1-0 victory for Perth Glory over the New Zealand Knights at North Harbour Stadium on September 22, as the home team, despite a much improved first half showing, failed to remove themselves from the bottom of the Hyundai A-League ladder.
Steve McMahon’Äôs men, meanwhile, lifted themselves into third spot, but it was clearly evident that a half-time rev-up from the Liverpool legend was a pivotal factor in Perth’Äôs far livelier second spell showing, which was in stark contrast to their more composed first half approach.
Instead, it was the Knights who displayed a far greater degree of commitment towards altering the scoreline in the first forty-five minutes - hardly surprising, in light of their insipid display at Newcastle Jets just four days prior.
And they were decidedly unfortunate not to go into the dressing rooms at the break at least a goal to the good - their performance certainly merited a return of that nature, as their greater urgency engineered Ben Collett-inspired openings in the first fifteen minutes for Sean Devine and Joshua Rose.
Perth first flexed their attacking muscles in the sixteenth minute, when Simon Colosimo’Äôs corner was punched out by impressive Knights’Äô debutant Glen Moss. Bobby Despotovski found the ball coming his way, and duly let fly, only for Devine to block his effort.
This sparked a Knights counter-attack, one which petered out thanks to Harnwell’Äôs intervention. But Perth’Äôs captain was given the slip six minutes later, as the home team enjoyed easily their best spell of the match. Ronnie Bull - a sound performance - linked with Devine on the left, who turned the ball inside for Joshua Rose.
He scampered onto it ahead of Harnwell, and let fly with a shot on the turn which brought a fine save at close quarters from Jason Petkovic, whose goalmouth was to see plenty of action over the course of the next few minutes from the resulting string of corners.
Josh Maguire took the first of them, which Harnwell headed clear to the edge of the penalty area. Lurking with intent was Zenon Caravella, who fired in a cross which Rose met with a close-range volley. The ball crashed against the crossbar and back into the goalmouth.
Perth scrambled the ball away for another corner, which Xiaobin Zhang clipped to the far post. Petkovic was forced to turn the ball onto the roof of his net as the Knights continued to pound away, with Maguire’Äôs resulting corner being cleared to Rose, whose shot was blocked at close quarters.
The visitors breathed a heavy sigh of relief after surviving this onslaught, but they were soon under the cosh once more, in the 28th minute. Caravella’Äôs cross was deftly touched into the path of Devine by Collett, but the striker sliced his first-time effort wide of the mark.
The lively Rose was thwarted by both Harnwell and Jamie Coyne as he looked to make the most of openings sparked by Devine and Maguire - a deliciously weighted pass on the greasy, rain-slicked surface - over the course of the next ten minutes, but as half-time approached, Perth finally gave the gathered throngs - 4938 made the lengthy trek on a wintry Thursday night - a glimpse of the attacking threat they pose.
It came via a smart counter-attack in the 44th minute, instigated by Petkovic’Äôs punching clear a Collett free-kick. Downfield Glory streamed, Scott Miller linking with Despotovski, who cheekily nutmegged Bull and powered on.
Racing forward from deep was Billy Celeski, whose run was rewarded by a laser-guided pass into his path. But the midfielder was thwarted at close quarters by Moss, the only New Zealander in the NZ Knights’Äô starting line-up - something of a sore point for the patriotically minded, who consider that a New Zealand-based team should boast a fair smattering of local talent.
For all this writer cares, Moss, and the rest of the Knights’Äô squad, for that matter, could hail from Swahili! If there were enough Kiwi footballers good enough to satisfy the standards expected of them, Knights’Äô coach John Adshead would doubtless have acquired them for the squad.
Clearly, there aren’Äôt many who fit the bill, which, when you consider recent All Whites’Äô results and the repeated failings of Kingz FC in the last three NSL campaigns, isn’Äôt that surprising.
So, in an effort to be competitive in a competition which is endeavouring to raise standards, the aspects of quality and consistency of on-pitch performances, both individually and as part of the team they have been given the opportunity to represent, are, quite rightly, of far greater import to those responsible for ensuring the Knights are a noteworthy factor in the A-League than comparatively trivial matters such as from where an individual hails.
It just so happens that in this instance, a Kiwi has proven himself up to the mark. For such was the goalkeeper’Äôs anticipation in this instance, not to mention his exemplary handling of the greasy ball when under pressure at various times in the second spell, that Moss has given Adshead a pleasing problem - for this writer, the goalkeeper has certainly done enough, on this showing, to justify being given an extended run in the number one jersey.
Moss certainly earned his keep in the second spell, as the uncompromising McMahon sent his Perth charges out with a message that the standards he sets and expects of those under his charge are far higher than had been produced by those wearing white shirts throughout the first forty-five minutes.
After an initial flurry from the Knights, in which Devine twice warmed the gloves of Petkovic, once from a twenty-five yard free-kick, Glory tore into their task with a vengeance.
Bull made a vital clearance to thwart their initial raid, which saw Hiroyaki Ishida, Jamie Coyne, Celeski, the well-contained Brian Deane and Despotovski combining, while it was Devine intervention - literally - which thwarted Naum Sekulovski’Äôs resulting corner from reaching its target.
Sekulovski was sent scampering clear by Colosimo’Äôs through ball in the 53rd minute, momentum which was greatly aided by Bull’Äôs untimely slip. But the midfielder was tripped by Neil Emblen on the edge of the penalty area, a foul which rightly earned the Knights’Äô captain a free-kick. What McMahon thought of Perth’Äôs profligacy in endeavouring to capitalise via the resulting set-piece probably isn’Äôt printable!!
Perth’Äôs best chance of the match thus far fell to the league’Äôs leading goalscorer in the 55th minute. Picked out by Harnwell, Despotovski took on the Knights’Äô defence and angled himself nicely before firing a shot across Moss from the edge of the penalty area. The ’Äòkeeper was relieved to see the sphere creep inches past the far post.
Moss then saved at the feet of the overlapping Miller, whose enterprise had been rewarded by a shrewd pass from Despotovski. The ’Äòkeeper promptly sparked a Knights’Äô counter-attack, with Collett and Rose combining to force a corner.
Maguire’Äôs delivery was pawed out by Petkovic to Zhang, who deftly beat two opponents before forcing another corner. This was taken by Collett, and the ball was promptly cleared back to the midfielder, who cleverly evaded a couple of challenges but could find no-one in position to capitalise on his cross to the far post.
Perth survived and pressed again, Coyne’Äôs downward header - from an Ishida free-kick - rocketing to safety off the slick turf just after the hour mark. But it was from another set-piece, in the 68th minute, that the deadlock was finally broken.
A short corner by Despotovski to Coyne saw the full-back whip in a cross. Substitute Damian Mori - a short-term acquisition for the visitors - headed the ball out to Sekulovski, whose cross was flicked on by Colosimo. Lurking on the far post was Harnwell, who, at full stretch, fired the ball into the roof of the net from close range to give Perth a 1-0 lead.
From this point on, the game deteriorated dramatically as a spectacle. Play became very broken and disjointed, with neither team seeming capable of generating continuity in their play - not to put too fine a point on it, the quality of football in the last twenty minutes was downright pathetic!
Only two more noteworthy opportunities to alter the scoreline were engineered during this time, one at each end. John Tambouras blocked a Mori snapshot resulting from Despotovski’Äôs jinking 77th minute run, while four minutes later, Knights’Äô debutant Naoki Imaya picked out the overlapping Darren Bazeley on the right, but Noah Hickey was unable to direct his header on target from the resulting cross.
Referee Neil Fox’Äôs final whistle brought to a conclusion a match from which Perth will be well pleased to have secured three points - had the Knights taken their chances in the first half, the visitors’Äô long trek home would have been made to seem even longer.