Ivan Franjic was only minutes away from an unwanted place in Perth Glory folklore seven years ago when his 2011/12 Grand Final own goal put the WA club on the brink of their first trophy.
Franjic’s unfortunate own goal, while playing for Brisbane Roar, had given Glory a second-half lead on that famous evening at Suncorp Stadium, but Besart Berisha’s double spared the fullback from the undesirable fate of inadvertently handing Perth their maiden championship.
On Sunday night, former Caltex Socceroo Franjic made another landmark contribution for Perth – only this time, there was more intent behind how the 31-year-old etched his name into the club’s history books.
PREMIERS: Franjic fires Popovic’s men to Hyundai A-League silverware
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REACTION: Popovic, Reddy and Chianese celebrate Perth Glory’s Premiership victory
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Franjic scored the Premiership-clinching goal for Tony Popovic’s side, sending Glory to their first trophy win of the Hyundai A-League era courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Newcastle Jets.
The Victorian now has a treble of Premiers Plates, after wins with the Roar in 2010/11 and 2013/14. He will be hunting his fourth championship when the Finals Series begins, having previously won the Grand Final with the Brisbane outfit in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
Great achievement last night with this special group of players. Job half done, one more to go. @PerthGloryFC @ALeague pic.twitter.com/O1MiZIv4aI
— Ivan Franjic (@Franjic5) April 14, 2019
Roar talent shows the way forward for Brisbane
Franjic, along with the likes of Berisha and German maestro Thomas Broich, helped Brisbane set incredible Hyundai A-League standards during the first half of the decade.
Since then it has been a mostly bleak existence for the Queenslanders following the departures of those three PFA A-League Team of the Decade members.
But Brisbane, who have blooded a number of youngsters this season, showed in Friday’s 2-1 defeat of high-flying Wellington Phoenix that they possess the raw materials to get back to the Hyundai A-League summit.
WATCH FOR FREE: How to watch the Hyundai A-League LIVE and FREE
REPORT: Eric Bautheac stuns Phoenix with brilliant double for Brisbane
Two-goal hero Eric Bautheac was key in revealing this glimpse of a brighter future, but so too were young forwards Dylan Wenzel-Halls and Nicholas D’Agostino, who each earned an assist in the Frenchman’s double.
The young Australian strikers may be relative newcomers to the big stage, but they battled like grizzled veterans, showing a good understanding of the high-octane performances Brisbane need to muster consistently to become a force once again.
WATCH: Eric Bautheac’s crazy solo goal against Phoenix
Outstanding effort from all involved tonight ?? 2 more games at home to go ?? https://t.co/nTdpHgD5dx
— Dylan Wenzel-Halls (@WenzelHalls) April 12, 2019
Final bow for kings of Sydney?
Having opened the scoring in Saturday’s Sydney derby stalemate, the sight of Alex Brosque must make Western Sydney Wanderers fans sick to the stomach.
Sydney FC’s evergreen skipper haunted the Wanderers yet again – he has scored in every game against his cross-city rivals this season – and is the fixture’s most prolific scorer with six in total against the Red and Black.
A fine way to bow out, if the 35-year-old is to join Wanderers legend Mark Bridge in retirement at the end of the season, as some rumours suggest.
HOW TO WATCH: Hyundai A-League Round 26
https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6025876781001
