Haven't seen a posting on this one yet. The knuckledraggers were 2-0 up at half time with both goals scored by defenders (Markovski and the no. 18) at corners. Glory keeper Maras was primarily to blame both times but the marking by the defence was almost as woeful. For Glory in the first half Danny Hay hit the post after an incisive run through the defence, but otherwise the purple boys were impotent.
At half time Marocchi pulled off Craig Naven and put on a third striker - Scott Halpin. It paid off with Halpin scoring his first NSL goal with his first touch of the match - a header from a ballooning cross. From there on the atmosphere was awesome and the lads found the inspiration to pull this one out of the fire. The second was scored by either Despotovski or Siasia, both challenging Knights keeper Didulica for a cross and the ball somehow squirting into the net. The final goal came late (deja vu!) when five minutes from time Siasia turned Markovski on the edge of the box and struck a brilliant shot past Didulica. The crowd (about 15 000) went absolutely mental. Glory held on despite some panicky defending. Overall, with the chances created, Glory should have won the match comfortably, but as always they made a meal of it.
Despite their victory Glory showed glaring faults. They were totally disorganised for long periods, and it was only through individual effort, spirit and instinct that they won. The Knights were mediocre individually but much better organised.
The Knights were bad tempered and filthy. The foul count was at least 2-1 against them. Marth was the worst (four fouls in the first ten minutes) but amazingly wasn't booked. He even started a mini-brawl in injury time. The other bastard was Joey Didulica who body-checked Halpin when the Glory striker was trying to get the ball out of the net quickly, and later shoved Despotovski away when Bobby tried to make ammends for some minor infringement. Didulica also indulged in a fair bit of play-acting and got Miller booked. It was entertaining to watch Didulica's frenzied tantrum when Siasia scored the winner though.
The ref, W. Dade, was worse than appalling. It was a fiery match and he had absolutely no control over it. He also let Greer and Jolic both get away with extremely cynical fouls - Greer's ugly offence prevented Halpin a clear run on goal. Unfortunately I think we'll see Dade again at Perth Oval this season.
Glory player ratings for those who like that sort of stuff:
3 - Maras Atrocious performance. Bring in Franken NOW. 5 - C. Naven Didn't do much, taken of at half time 7 - Vinko Some great tackling and reading of the play 5 - G. Naven Not there most of the time 8 - Miller Ran his guts out and really punished the Knights on the right flank. 7 - Strudders Good second half. Crossing could have been better 6 - Bobby Not his best game but still troubled the Knights defence 8 - Tapai Great performance. Booked again 9 - Shack My man of the match. His match-saving tackles were only a small part of his contribution 6 - Samson Did nothing the whole match but then scored a great winner 8 - Hay Solid and very useful pushing forward SUBS 7 - Halpin Added an extra dimension and found more space than Bobby or Samson Ithier Not on long enough to rate
Revenge is sweet.