For long periods of the game, Sydney were the better team, but Kerr’s desire to win the game pushed her team to the three points.

With temperatures above 35 degrees for the entire game, the players were allowed two drinks breaks per half, and they really needed them.

Perth was unbeaten coming into the game, and welcomed back Alyssa Mautz after her one-match suspension, and had every right to feel confident. However, Sydney was in a rich vein of form coming into the game, and they seemed to adapt to the stifling heat better than the home team.

Moving the ball across the pitch with short passes Sydney made the home team work hard for possession and they had the better of the chances in the first half.

Princess Ibini was making life hard for Jamie-Lee Gale on one flank, whilst the clever feet of Savannah McCaskill on the other flank were proving hard to deal with as well.

Perth were playing a more direct game but found that their usual outlets of Rachel Hill and Sam Kerr shackled by the Sydney back four, but they still needed goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe’s sharp reflexes as she saved a snapshot from Mautz.

In the 25th minute, Mautz pulled down Sofia Huerta on the edge of the box to give Sydney a free kick. Kennedy then stepped up and produced a stunning world class free kick into the top left hand corner to give the visitors the lead.

Sydney dominated the game for long spells and were good value for their 1-0 lead at halftime.

Glory Coach Bobby Despotovski made a change at half time bringing on Jacynta Galabadaarachchi for Leticia McKenna. He must have said a few words at the break as well, as the home team came out with much greater intensity at the beginning of the second half.

This increase in tempo saw them win a corner in the 47th minute, which was headed emphatically into the net by Glory superstar Kerr to score her seventh goal of the campaign to level the scores.

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The game then started to open up as fatigue set in due to the heat, and chances were created at both ends.

One of the best occurred in the 61st minute when a great run and pass from Galabadaarachchi released Kerr. She chose to play in her strike partner Hill rather than take the shot herself, but Hill was denied by a superb block from Chloe Logarzo.

The deadlock was finally broken with six minutes to go when Kerr rose to head home a delightful cross from Hill.

There was still time for Sydney to try and get a point though, and they almost succeeded in the 93rd minute when Caitlin Foord found time and space in the box to shoot for goal, only to be denied by a block from Kim Carroll.

The win maintains Glory’s unbeaten run and puts them equal top with Brisbane Roar. They now face Melbourne Victory in a mouth-watering clash, whilst Sydney are just outside the top four with a bye in the next round.

After the game, both coaches made comment about the conditions, which were so hot that the referee was replaced at halftime with heat exhaustion.

Sydney’s Ante Juric said: “It’s a problem for both teams I think, but at the end of the day I just don’t know why they put it (the game) in mid-December at 3.30 in Perth, when you know it’s going to be hot”.

Perth Glory’s Bobby Despotovski was even more forthright in his comments.

“I agree (with Ante), its way too hot…..we have to do something about this. They (FFA ) are not going to do anything because of the coaches saying (anything), they are going start doing something if somebody gets hurt, so lets not come to that, let's do something before that.”