Ndumba Makeche’s late goal saw Perth Glory beat Gold Coast United 1-0 in Sunday’s National Youth League match at 6PR Stadium in Perth.
The Glory controlled the bulk of the match and hit the woodwork once in each half, as well as having several other scoring opportunities, before Makeche secured the three points by scoring with 12 minutes left.
Gold Coast also had their chances to take something from the game, but suffered their fourth loss of the season thanks to Perth goalkeeper Lewis Italiano’s several impressive saves.
But victory came at a cost for the Glory, as captain Reece Vittiglia was forced off after an hour with an apparent leg injury and first team defender Josh Risdon required stitches after a head injury in the first half, although he later returned to the field.
Perth started strongly in the hot conditions and nearly went ahead in the early minutes when former Gold Coast midfielder Steve Pantelidis beat the offside trap to go clean through, but he put the chance wide from close-range.
Just seconds later Chris Harold fired over from 10 metres out, before the United striker had another shot on the counter attack, which Italiano saved before the goalkeeper did brilliantly to quickly get up and deny Mitch Cooper’s follow-up header.
Italiano was called into action again in the 17th minute when Cooper was again played in and his shot required a diving save.
Gareth Naven’s side was just inches away from going to the break with a lead when Vittiglia smashed a free kick from 20 yards into the post.
Gold Coast nearly went ahead a minute after half-time when Daniel Severino’s free kick from a dangerous spot was just out of Sami Tesfagabr’s reach as he ran in unmarked on goal.
Substitute Byron Hudson nearly gave Glory the lead when he shot into the crossbar from the edge of the box, while Tommy Amphlett and Jesse Makarounas both went close for Perth soon after.
But the hosts finally broke the deadlock when substitute Makeche was played in and calmly slotted the ball past Gold Coast ‘keeper Jerrad Tyson from a difficult angle.
The two-time defending champions pushed forward in the final minutes as they tried to find a late equaliser, but the Glory held on for their fourth win this season.
Perth Glory 1 (Makeche 78)
Gold Coast United 0
