When Perth Glory needed someone to stand-up, Liam Reddy answered the call on Friday night.
Reddy came up big in Perth’s 1-1 draw with Wellington Phoenix in the ‘Distance Derby’, making two all important saves to keep the scores level as the visitors began to mount a charge.
Oskar Zawada had just equalised for Wellington, cancelling out David Williams’ opener for the Glory and the momentum was beginning to shift in the favour of the visitors.
The Polish striker, however, looked as if he would score every time he touched the ball inside the area and Reddy had to be at his absolute best to deny Wellington’s new hit-man up top.
First, it came deep in the first-half, as David Ball’s delightful cross found Zawada at the back-post, but his volley was expertly denied by the 41-year-old shot-stopper’s safe hands.
But the most impressive of the lot came just after half-time, as Zawada was again found with a pocket of space inside the area. He stopped, he controlled and he fired a bullet into the bottom corner which was clawed out by Reddy.
In a game of few and far between chances, Reddy’s saves turned out to be worth its weight in gold as the score-line ended in a 1-1 draw at Macedonia Park.
And for Reddy, who is set to bring up his 350th Isuzu UTE A-League appearance when Perth travel to Adelaide to face the Reds on January 2, it was just another day at the office in game 349 – putting in a shift that’s become all too familiar throughout his career.
“Yeah, if I can get through Christmas,” Reddy joked when asked post-game as to whether he feels as good as ever on Paramount Plus.
“Hopefully, I’ll obviously play but yeah, I still feel young. I still feel good. Probably the younger boys in the team keep me a little bit younger than I actually am but the body’s feeling good and mentally I’m good.
“So I’ll probably continue to keep playing until that goes anyway.”
Despite Reddy needing to come up big in key moments, it was another step in the right direction for the bottom-placed Glory, who are still unbeaten at their ‘home away from home’ at Macedonia Park.
The veteran-keeper believes there were plenty of positives to take out of the game, with a lack of cutting edge proving to be their biggest Achilles heel.
“I think it was a really good team performance. Obviously, the result is not there but we picked a valuable point up,” Reddy said.
“We got in really good areas but [didn’t have] that killer instinct and probably at both ends too, because I think their goal was quite soft, but definitely a lot of positives to come out of this game, just like last week.
“Obviously, the result wasn’t there but they’re a tough team to play against us and it’s another point. We keep on moving.”
Their issues in attack, however, may be solved with the impending arrival of Socceroo forward Adam Taggart who is set to be available for selection next month when the January transfer window opens.
His mooted second-debut is the clash against Sydney FC on January 14, but Taggart was non-commital when asked if he would be ready to go in a few weeks time.
“It’s hard to say at the moment,” Taggart said on Paramount Plus.
“It’s almost like a mini pre-season so I’ll keep working hard, keep pushing as hard as I can and see how fit I can get and build on that. So whether it’s from the start or off the bench, I don’t know.
“But all I know is, I’ll be putting my best foot forward over the next few weeks to make sure I’m ready.”
Friday night agenda
Liberty A-League:
- Canberra United 0-4 Melbourne City
MATCH REPORT: Pollicina double fires City back to the top of the Liberty A-League
- Newcastle Jets 0-2 Brisbane Roar
MATCH REPORT: Gorry brace helps Brisbane go back-to-back, Jets sweat on Agnew injury
Isuzu UTE A-League:
- Brisbane Roar 1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
MATCH REPORT: Roar and Wanderers can’t be separated in Redcliffe
- Perth Glory 1-1 Wellington Phoenix
MATCH REPORT: Distance Derby ends in tight stalemate
Follow along LIVE as KEEPUP brings you all the goals, highlights, up to date scores and biggest talking points from the Liberty A-League and Isuzu UTE A-League on Friday night, brought to you by Neds.