Can Perth grab finals Glory or will Melbourne break their Hearts? Don’t miss this Sunday showdown at nib Stadium.
Perth Glory v Melbourne Heart
Sunday 1st April, 5.00pm
Can Perth grab finals Glory or will Melbourne break their Hearts? Don’t miss this Sunday showdown at nib Stadium.
What a Hyundai A-League season it has been for Perth Glory. Having finished with only the now defunct North Queensland Fury below them at the end of their last campaign, few would have thought they’d do so well this time round, but a third-placed finish presents them with their first ever home finals tie.
It’s sure to be a cracking atmosphere and a wonderful occasion as Melbourne Heart compete in the finals for the first time ever, so be a part of the drama and experience knock-out football live!
The only other time that Perth Glory have played in the finals ended in heartbreak. After a 1-1 draw in Wellington in 2010, the side from Western Australia were eliminated on penalties and had to endure the long journey home wondering what might have been.
So, The Shed will be keen to banish those memories on Sunday by helping their players to a victory over finals débutantes Heart. And the home club will go into the game in fantastic spirits following a stunning performance from Shane Smeltz last weekend.
Against Melbourne Victory, he proved that he has the capability to spur Perth on to silverware, with a four-goal haul.
The New Zealander became the Hyundai A-League’s all-time top scorer with his stunning display as injury-hit Glory twice came from behind to eventually seal a cracking win.
After Carlos Hernandez gave the visitors a surprise lead, Smeltz equalised, only for Mark Milligan to restore Victory’s advantage. But then the goal-machine came into his own, bagging three in just over 15 second-half minutes.
They’ve now lost just three times in their last 14 games and another such performance will surely see them progress to the next stage.
In contrast to that thrilling battle, last Friday Melbourne Heart played out something of a pedestrian match-up with Adelaide United, yet still showed good resolve to come away with a draw.
A first-half Sergio van Dijk penalty looked like it would send them to defeat until the unstoppable Eli Babalj scored a magnificent solo effort in the second half. Still, the draw didn’t stop them from being leapfrogged by Sydney FC, and means that Heart occupy the last of the finals places.
The visitors will take encouragement from the fact that the head-to-head between these sides in the Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season is a strange one, with all three games having been won by the away side.
In December at nib Stadium, an 87th-minute finish from Mate Dugandzic gave Heart a dramatic 2-1 victory while Glory won both clashes at AAMI Park by the same score-line.
Will it be another tense 2-1 result? And who will emerge victorious? The noise you create from the stands will have a huge influence on the outcome, so get along to nib Stadium and play your part in this absolutely vital clash. It’s all-or-nothing, be there.
