Perth Glory will be tossed out of the finals series if they perform again like they did in their shock 3-0 loss to Gold Coast United, according to Ian Ferguson.
Perth Glory will be tossed out of the finals series if they perform again like they did in their shock 3-0 loss to Gold Coast United, according to Ian Ferguson.
The third-placed side was dealt an embarrassing thumping at the hands of the wooden spooners-elect, who stunned the visitors with an early goal and confirmed the result with another two late strikes.
Without injured midfield pair Jacob Burns and Liam Miller, the Glory were outmaneuvered in the centre of the park by Gold Coast import Peter Jungschlager and his two teenage sidekicks, Josh Brillante and Jake Barker-Daish.
Up front, Kiwi striker Shane Smeltz again fired blanks, while Perth’s defence was exposed on the break numerous times by United’s pace in transition.
Ferguson, who is yet to be offered a contract for next season by Glory chairman Tony Sage, admitted he was concerned by what he saw.
“We can’t play like that in the finals. We can’t even play like that next week or we’ll get our backsides kicked,” the Scotsman said.
“We’ve got to be a lot more mentally tough and show a bit of bottle. That’s what it’s going to come down to in the next game or so.
“I believe we’ve got the boys and the team spirit, and I don’t see that changing in any way, shape or form. We go home disappointed. It’s a bad day at the office. We have to regroup.”
The coach felt aggrieved by a controversial early decision from referee Kris Griffiths-Jones to send off Dean Heffernan after what seemed to be a fairly routine aerial contest between the fullback and Daniel Bowles.
But the man with the whistle spotted a stray elbow from Heffernan and had no hesitation pulling out a straight red ticket – much to the surprise of the Glory bench.
“The sending off, from what I’ve seen – and I’ve not seen it from the cameras yet – but what I saw with my eyes… I don’t even think the player actually challenged it, I don’t think he even said anything,” Ferguson said.
“The next minute there was a red card brought out. I won’t know until I’ll see it but I thought it was one of the softest sending offs I’ve ever seen.
“That puts us behind the eight ball because (earlier) we gave away a silly free kick and big Zac Anderson scores a free header.”
Perth had a handful of clear-cut chances to break their way back in the game, but not once looked ever truly likely to score.
Early in the second half, Gold Coast custodian Jerrad Tyson was able to block out close-range shots from Smeltz and winger Andrezinho.
Ferguson said that was because of poor finishing, rather than more goalmouth heroics from the in-form Tyson.
“We hit them straight at them. He’s obviously in the right place at the right time and that’s the beauty of it for a goalkeeper,” he said.
“They get the credit for making these saves but I felt as though either side, a yard or so we might have gotten the lucky break.”
Worryingly for the Glory, Ferguson said he could not guarantee if either of Miller (hamstring) or Burns (ribs) would overcome their injuries in time for the finals.
