Perth Glory have moved further clear at the top of the National Youth League standings after a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Melbourne Heart at John Cain Memorial Park on Monday morning.
Perth Glory have moved further clear at the top of the National Youth League standings after a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Melbourne Heart at John Cain Memorial Park on Monday morning.
Heart skipper Dusan Bosnjak gave the home side the lead after 11 minutes with a lovely strike from outside the box, but Glory were on level terms just two minutes later when Bradley Treloar put the ball into his own net.
Bosnjak converted a penalty to make it 2-1 to the Heart on 26 minutes and when the lively Jeremy Walker added a third for the Heart three minutes later a rout was on the cards.
But a trio of goals in the second half from Jack Clisby, Ndumba Makeche and Clayton Arnez gave Glory the three points and moved them four points clear at the top of the ladder.
Heart dominated the early proceedings and could have taken the lead through Adrian Zahra after just 60 seconds, but the home fans didn’t have to wait much longer for the opening goal.
Bosnjak pounced on a poor clearance from Glory skipper Sam Mitchinson to find the back of the net with a lovely strike from outside the box.
Heart defender Treloar was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he managed to put Slobodan Vulin’s cross into his own goal to level proceedings two minutes later, but Heart continued to dominate and were duly rewarded with a second goal after just 26 minutes.
Walker made a weaving run into the penalty area and was upended by Mitchinson.
Referee Brenton Hayward had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Bosnjak stepped up to net his second.
It was 3-1 just moments later when Walker got a goal of his own after finding space on the right.
Bosnjak floated a cross over and Walker rifled his shot past Glory keeper Neil Young and into the back of the net.
A triple substitution at half-time seemed to give Glory more impetus in the second 45 as the lively Makeche caused the Heart defence plenty of problems with his pace up front.
Makeche was fouled on the edge of the area just after the hour mark and Clisby stepped up to rocket his left-foot free kick past Heart stopper Nikola Roganovic and into the back of the net to make it 3-2.
Glory continued to press forward in search of an equaliser and were rewarded just six minutes from full-time when Makeche made a long solo run from the middle of the park and kept his cool to slot the ball past Roganovic to make it 3-3.
And then just three minutes later Glory grabbed the winner when Makeche set up Arnez for a tap in at the far post.
Heart thought they had an equaliser in injury time, but Kristian Konstantinidis was adjudged to have fouled Young in the process of glancing his header into the net.
Melbourne Heart Youth 3 (Bosnjak 11,26p, Walker 29)
Perth Glory Youth 4 (Treloar 13og, Clisby 62, Makeche 84, Arnez 87)
at John Cain Memorial Park
