A late goal to Perth veteran Jamie Harnwell has secured a 1-1 draw for the Glory against Brisbane at ME Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
After an unsettled week which saw Charlie Miller depart the club, the Roar struggled to find any rhythm during the opening half but scored against the run of play just after the break when Luke DeVere prodded the ball home.
But Glory fan favourite Harnwell eventually cracked through some staunch Roar defence in the 78th minute, his scrappy goal sparking an exuberant celebration as he marked his return from a two-month absence with a knee injury.
Perth had the chance to take full points late in the game but Roar stopper Griffin McMaster spectacularly tipped Todd Howarth’s shot around the post, somewhat atoning for not saving Harnwell’s scuffed effort a few minutes earlier.
The draw sees Perth remain in fifth on the Hyundai A-League table, having won just once in the last seven matches, while Brisbane slips to eighth but remains in touch with the top six.
Despite earning a point in a tough road trip, coach Ange Postecoglou was disappointed but optimistic of better times ahead.
“We worked very hard and were a goal up away from home, we had a couple of opportunities to pinch a second, so we kind of feel it’s two points we’ve dropped,” Postecoglou said.
“It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t fantastic football from our behalf, but we worked hard and it would have been good to get the win.”
Glory coach Dave Mitchell felt his side’s passing hadn’t matched its endeavour.
“I’m happy with a draw in the end but overall I’m disappointed we couldn’t get the three points,” he said.
“I don’t think we were as sharp as we could have been in the final third. I felt that there were a few players that just weren’t on song today and that was reflected in some of the sloppy passing we had out there.”
With a difficult road trip to North Queensland and the Gold Coast ahead, the Glory started with intent, forcing Brisbane to defend Adriano Pellegrino’s quality cross as early as the sixth minute.
Even at that stage, the visitors, shorn of Danny Tiatto, Matt McKay and Miller’s creativity appeared intent on defending grimly and catching the Glory with rapid-fire counter-attacks as they did just a minute later, a long-ball from DeVere being nodded down by Sergio van Dijk into the path of Mitch Nichols, who blasted wildly.
Aside from a netted effort by Henrique who was miles offside, that was about the Roar’s best chance for the half as they were pushed further and further back by the Glory attacks.
In the 17th minute, Naum Sekulovski’s cross from the left found Branko Jelic but the striker could only nod the ball into the bar, while Pellegrino’s downward header from the rebound was nervously clutched by McMaster.
As the Roar defended ever more deeply, the Glory were allowed almost free reign in possession, the hosts knocking the ball around with ease, although their final crosses into the box were repeatedly stymied by Brisbane’s solid back four.
And, the Glory paid for their misses seven minutes after the break as Brisbane opened the scoring from an Henrique corner that found Josh McCloughan at the far post, the defender nodding it down for DeVere to poke home from a metre out.
Having gone behind, the Glory lost their rhythm and Brisbane took the opportunity to press for a second.
Sergio van Dijk appeared their most dangerous attacking outlet, the Dutchman delivering a dangerous cross in the 56th minute that Tando Velaphi did well to punch away before coming within inches of scoring 10 minutes later, his bouncing, long-range attempt denied by a furiously back-peddling Velaphi.
It was up to the Glory substitutes, though, to do the business and bring their team back into the game.
Twelve minutes from time Howarth sent in a well-flighted cross from the left, finding Pellegrino, whose knock down header fell perfectly for Harnwell to score through a scuffed attempt that slipped under McMaster and ricocheted in off the post.
McMaster almost conceded another in the 84th minute when he didn’t take a regulation grab cleanly, letting the ball bounce off Mile Sterjovski and almost into goal.
In a frantic last few moments, Brisbane had a superb chance to take the lead when van Dijk took possession in a good position, but the striker couldn’t control and the Glory lived again.
But at the death, McMaster redeemed himself, pulling off a stunning diving save to tip Howarth’s on-target shot around the post with a minute remaining, earning his side a well-earned share of the points.
Perth Glory 1 (Harnwell 78)
Brisbane Roar 1 (DeVere 52)
Crowd 7217 at Perth’s ME Bank Stadium
