Perth Glory bagged three important points in their round 5 clash against Melbourne Victory at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday. Goals to Rosie Sutton and Vanessa Di Bernardo in the first and second half respectively sealed the game for Perth with a 2-0 win.

Perth Glory - Looking Sharp

Glory’s short game looks to be really coming together, with crisp passes opening up space and leaving Victory unable to possess the ball followed up with Sam Kerr’s penetrating runs creating options for the midfield distribution.

Kerr was dominant, repeatedly running through and outpacing the opposition and capitalising on great positioning. That said, Kerr’s finishing in the final third was thwarted over and over as she was unable to thread the ball between the posts, a combination of great challenges from Annabel Martin, Samantha Johnson and a great first starting game from keeper Beth Mason-Jones.

“Sam is a superstar. When you give the ball to her you never know what’s going to happen,” Sutton highlighted after the game.

“I’m very very happy we got the three points today and I’m happy I scored as well. I needed that to be honest for my confidence.”

“We’ve been struggling to score some goals the last couple of games so we’ve been really attacking in training and finishing and I think that has shown today”.

Melbourne Victory - Edging Closer

For Victory, one feels like they’re on the cusp of winning or getting points in every single game. They’re so close. Rarely blown away and always competitive, but just not quite there.

Coach Jeff Hopkins had Victory lining up in a 4-4-2 formation but throughout the game it seemed as though Natasha Dowie was isolated up top with the midfield battling to work the ball through, seemingly relying on a few well timed lobs to give Dowie a chance on goal.

Victory’s forays up forward were shut down reasonably quickly, so much so they only had a handful of shots on goal and very few with enough power to really threaten.

Samantha Johnson is a revelation defensively with her ability to track back and cover and the ground and aerially. And if you haven’t yet been watching Annabel Martin, it’s time to get on that bandwagon as the young Matilda is developing her game at a rapid pace.

At only 19 years of age, Mason-Jones stood tall and confident between the posts, the match providing her with some excellent experience.

“It’s great to come up against a player like Sam [Kerr]. She’s world class, a special player. I’m happy with my performance. A bit disappointed overall. As a team we just need to stick together and keep moving forward,” Mason-Jones said.

With Victory’s defence holding together well, you can see Hopkins’ style and strength as a coach shining through but the midfield is struggling to consistently feed and engage with their attack. Christine Nairn is playing deep in an effort to bolster the defence but it’s stifling Victory’s creativity and attack.

Up Next

Victory remain at home and will aim to bag the points against the Western Sydney Wanderers whilst Perth Glory return home for a big clash against Sydney FC.

Match Details

Melbourne Victory 0

Perth Glory 2 (Rosie Sutton 17’, Vanessa DiBernardo 65’)

Sunday 4 December 2016

Venue: Lakeside Stadium

Kick-Off: 4:00PM

Referee: Rebecca Durcau

Melbourne Victory: Bethany Mason-Jones (gk), Alexandra Natoli, Alexandra Cheal, Annabel Martin, Lia Privitelli, Natasha Dowie, Christine Nairn, Melindaj Barbieri (Gulcan Koca 70’), Adriano Taranto (Ayesha Norrie 62’), Samantha Johnson, Kariah White (Laura Spiranovic 59’)

Substitutes – Emily Kenshole (gk)

Cautions – Samantha Johnson 31’, Alexandra Natoli 87’

Perth Glory: Melissa Maizels (gk) (Gabrielle Dal Busco 45+4’), Sarah Carroll, Kim Carroll, Alyssa Mautz, Nicole Stanton, Rosie Sutton, Vanessa DiBernardo, Jaymee Gibbons (Shawn Billam 33’), Natasha Rigby, Sam Kerr, Arianna Romero

Substitutes – Caitlin Doeglas, Patricia Charalambous

Cautions – Sarah Carroll 69’, Shawn Billam 84’