Sydney FC conjure late goal to defeat Perth Glory

Sydney FC have momentarily jumped to second on the A-League table after defeating Perth Glory 3-2 in Parramatta.

Sydney FC: 3 (Steve Corica (p) ‘24, John Aloisi ‘49, ‘87)
Perth Glory: 2 (Wayne Srhoj ‘45+2, Daniel McBreen )
Venue: Parramatta Stadium
Crowd: 8,359

After an open first 20 minutes, Sydney hit the lead when veteran midfielder Steve Corica converted from the penalty spot after Shannon Cole was brought down in the area by Perth’s Todd Howarth.
The Sky Blues got the reward after having most of the play and more chances early in the contest but their good work was almost undone when in-form Glory striker Daniel McBreen hit a dipping left-footed volley in the 34th minute but Sydney keeper Clint Bolton was equal to the task with a brilliant diving save.

The dynamic of the match changed completely right on the stroke of half-time when the Glory equalised through Wayne Srhoj.
After a series of headers, the ball fell to Andrija Jukic who laid it off for Srhoj and the midfielder smashed home a left-foot volley from outside the area to tie it up and give his team confidence heading into the break.

Four minutes into the second half, controversy arose when Sydney striker John Aloisi’s shot was cleared off the line by Chris Coyne, but after a second look, the referee awarded the goal as Coyne’s clearance actually went behind the line and through a hole in the net next to the upright.

After that, Perth pressed hard for an equaliser with Sydney being able to deny their advances up until the 79th minute when McBreen netted his fifth goal in his past four outings to make it 2-2, which temporarily ended Sydney’s hopes of taking the minor premiership but that hope was resurrected eight minutes later when Aloisi scored his second for the match, making it 3-2 and giving his side a vital win.