Perth Glory goalkeeper Oli Sail made a string of late saves to help his side keep out a persistent Sydney FC in a 0-0 draw at HBF Park in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Saturday night.
Joe Lolley, Douglas Costa, Anas Ouahim and Patryk Klimala all had big chances to earn the Sky Blues all three points in the second half of Saturday’s encounter in Perth but Glory held firm to record their first home draw of the season, after one win and eight defeats at HBF Park.
Glory captain Adam Taggart had Perth’s best chance of the game but couldn’t keep his first-half volley down; Glory were the better team throughout the first half but the Sky Blues got on top after the break to dominate proceedings and press for a winning goal that never came as the two sides shared the spoils in a goalless draw.
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Glory winger Nikola Mileusnic set the tone for a bright first-half performance from the home side with a powerful shot from distance that flashed just wide of the bottom-left corner, with less than 40 seconds on the clock.
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Chances were few and far between before the break but Glory did ramp up the pressure after the half-hour mark.
Harrison Devenish-Meares did well to prevent a strong Taggart header from crossing the goal line, and with Nicholas Pennington arriving on the scene, the Sydney keeper did well not to spill the ball for what would have been a simple tap-in.
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Taggart almost added a spectacular goal to his career highlight reel when he controlled a Tomislav Mrcela lofted through ball with the outside of his right foot before volleying a looping effort over Devenish-Meares; the Socceroos striker put too much on the shot as it dropped over the crossbar and onto the roof of the net.
Glory continued to enjoy the better of the chances early in the second half and when Mrcela flicked a header toward the middle of the six-yard box, Sydney defender Jordan Courtney-Perkins was fortunate not to divert the ball into his own net, instead conceding a corner.
Down the other end, Sydney FC striker Klimala had come off the bench at half-time and had a big chance to break the deadlock after skipping past Takuya Okamoto to create space to shoot in the box.
But Okamoto showed desperation in defence, wrestling himself back into a 50-50 with Klimala before sliding in to make a pivotal block at the feet of the Polish striker.
Klimala was at it again just before the 70-minute mark, combining with fellow substitute Anas Ouahim down the left side of Sydney’s attack. The forward foray ended with Klimala taking two shots from a tight angle – both of which were saved by Oli Sail in goal for Glory.
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As the second half wore on, Sydney’s abundance of stars continued to come to the fore as Ufuk Talay’s side looked to snatch three points on the road.
Lolley has scored more goals against Perth Glory than he has done against any other side in the Isuzu UTE A-League, and looked to add to his nine-goal tally against the club with a low-driven shot from distance that Sail did well to tip around the post.
Ouahim was next to threaten Glory’s clean sheet. Played into the six-yard box by Lolley, Ouahim looked to shoot first-time on the turn but before the ball could reach Sail, Mrcela had slid in to make a crucial block.
Douglas Costa joined Ouahim and Klimala in coming off the bench to help Sydney gain the ascendancy in Perth, and in the 84th minute, the Brazilian’s vicious, swerving shot called Sail into the first of two quickfire saves, with his second block to deny Ouahim on the rebound an extraordinary piece of goalkeeping from the New Zealand international.
