Wolves v Glory

Round 10 report by Mitchell Vleeskens
Wollongong Wolves v Perth Glory


Defeating the two top teams in two consecutive matches is no mean feat for any team, let alone the lowly ranked Wolves.

On a cold, wet and windy night, typically a night for the diehard fans, the Wolves produced an outstanding match against league frontrunners Perth Glory to please even the most sceptical of spectators.

Over the last two weeks the team has been presenting themselves as a power that is capable of taking on even the strongest the nation has to offer, and Sunday night's match was certainly a crowd-pleasing entertainer.

Everything began well for the Wolves, who, scoring in the third minute, immediately gave the fans something to cheer for, including hope that their abilities from last week had indeed been more than a fluke. Stuart Young let a shot fly at the keeper, who, out of character all night, dropped the ball and allowed it to roll between his legs into the net.

As expected, the Glory bounced back and threw everything they could at the Wolves for the entire first half. Notably, Scott Miller played a huge role in orchestrating his team's offensive manoeuvres.

Desperate goalkeeping from Wolves' Adam Crews, and a few lucky deflections ensured the Wolves maintained their lead throughout the duration of the first half.

The second half began and Perth came out of the gates flying, only to be stopped short when Chimaobi Nwaogazi received a beautiful ball right in front of the keeper and easily converted. The Wolves were able to maintain the pressure, thanks to Nahuel Arrarte's superb offensive awareness creating many great opportunities.

By the 68th minute, Perth showed little sign of recovering the two goal deficit. However, at the 69th, Damian Mori put away a clean shot that turned the momentum back to Perth's favour. They'd regained their strength and aggression, and the Wolves' defensive game was on.

Despite an almost biased referee, the Wolves were able to hold onto their one goal lead, however, it was truly a thriller to the end, the Glory taking a few good shots but each saved by the impressive Adam Crews.

The Wolves' have shown themselves to be a great team over the past two weeks, but only time will tell if they have the determination to continue to the end of the season.