When people describe Liam Reddy as the man of the moment they aren’t kidding.
The veteran gloveman stood tall to send Perth Glory through to a maiden Hyundai A-League home Grand Final after a brilliant performance in the penalty shootout.
REPORT: Glory secure Grand Final after all-time classic with Adelaide
HIGHLIGHTS: Re-live an all-time Hyundai A-League classic
GRAND FINAL: Grand Final location revealed
Reddy made four saves to ensure Glory would get the all-important result after they were pegged back twice by Adelaide United at HBF Park.
Not only did Reddy save some attempts he also took one himself and just to make things even more crazy he copped a stray elbow from teammate Dino Djulbic as celebrations kicked off!
A night he won’t forget in a hurry!
REACTION: Popovic hails deserving Glory boys
Record breakers, again!
There has been a feel-good factor out West this campaign and that was reflected in the crowd figure for Friday night’s Semi-Final.
A record 17,868 fans turned out, beating the previous record set back in Round 23.
What a difference 12 months can make!
It's official – we broke our @ALeague Attendance Record set a few weeks ago in Round 23 on Saturday, 30 March 2019!
A big thank you to all members and fans at @hbfpark tonight.
(1-0) #PERvADL #OneMission #OneGlory pic.twitter.com/U4F0x0VHEt
— Perth Glory FC (@PerthGloryFC) May 10, 2019
Good call Scotty
Belief is key to any successful team and Perth’s Scott Neville has it coursing through his veins.
Such was his confidence that Glory would make the Hyundai A-League Grand Final he changed the date of his wedding as to not clash with the big day!
Scott Neville, the man who changed his wedding so it didn’t clash with the Grand Final, puts Glory back in front. Scenes! #PERvADL
— Neil Sherwin (@neilsherwin) May 10, 2019
Neville played a huge part in fulfilling his prediction, scoring in extra-time before the Reds tied it up again.
A massive call but the right one given the way things have turned out!
https://players.brightcove.net/5472387882001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6035142833001
Not practice, no problem
We all know that ice runs through Tony Popovic’s veins and as if we need further confirmation how cool the Perth boss is we got it in the aftermath of his side’s penalty heroics.
Speaking to Fox Sports post-match, Popovic revealed his side didn’t even prepare for the possibility of spot-kicks, instead backing his troops to get the job done.
“Zero, zero planning,” he said when quizzed on how they prepared.
“At the end we came up with a bit of a strategy in those two minutes after full-time.
“It’s different, you can plan those things at training but after 120 minutes players are fatigued they’re tired. We went with something and fortunately it came through.
“It’s finals football, it is what you expect it to be. I think world football in the last few days has shown us what can happen in a one-off game.
“[In] big matches there are big moments. You’re just proud of everyone at the football club.”
Iceman indeed.
Forgotten man
His name won’t go down in history but Paul Izzo deserves more than a mention after some shootout heroics of his own.
The Reds gloveman pulled off three saves, one less than his Glory counterpart, but it wasn’t enough on a night of high standards.
Izzo was able to hold his head high at full-time at least.
“The boys did all the hard work and it comes down to the penalties but it’s a lottery,” he explained to Fox Sports after the final whistle.
“I’ve got to do my best and repay the boys for the 120 minutes they put in and unfortunately I couldn’t do enough but I don’t think we should be disappointed in ourselves.
“We can hold our heads pretty high…no one expected us to be here so we can be proud of ourselves.”
‘Why not?’
As if he hadn’t done enough already Liam Reddy nominated himself to take another penalty should Glory need him next weekend.
Reddy slapped down questions over why he stood up in the shootout and while he wishes Perth could have got the job done in the 90, he is prepared to do it all again.
“Why not? Can goalkeepers not take penalties?” he told Fox Sports.
.@LiamReddy33 = HERO ???
All four penalty saves and his converted penalty!
? @FOXFOOTBALL #FeelTheFinals #PERvADL #ALeague pic.twitter.com/amdJEDLAhR
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) May 10, 2019
“I’m a confident player and if it comes to it again I’ll take another one.
“It was great to get the job done obviously it went to penalties which wasn’t the desired result but we’re through to the Grand Final and this was the goal at the start of the season.”
