Kosta Barbarouses’ 350th Isuzu UTE A-League match ended in defeat as wooden spooners Perth Glory downed Wellington Phoenix 2-0 at Sky Stadium thanks to a double from Adam Taggart.
With nothing to play for except their pride, Perth Glory were by far the more dangerous of the two teams in the first half and took the lead in the 34th minute; Adam Taggart curling home a sublime opener to make it 1-0.
The away side had several good chances to extend their lead and finally did so in stoppage time as Taggart bagged his second of the game and 10th of the season, delicately dinking the ball over Oluwayemi to make it 2-0.
Whilst already confirmed as wooden spooners for the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season, the Glory end their season on a high after securing just their fourth win of the campaign in front of a gaggle of adoring travelling fans.
As for Wellington, the Nix miss out on the chance to move up one place into 10th on the ladder having suffered a 14th loss of the season.
Both sides will now contest the Australia Cup Playoffs in Darwin in 10 days time as Wellington face Brisbane Roar while Perth take on Central Coast Mariners.
There’s been little to cheer for the Phoenix at Sky Stadium this season but the hoem crowd were on their feet before kick off to applaud A-Leagues legend Kosta Barbarouses as became just the sixth player in Isuzu UTE A-League history to reach the 350 game mark.
As for the opposition, despite arriving in the Kiwi capital as confirmed Wooden Spooners, Perth Glory came flying out of the blocks and had several good chances to take the lead.
Lashing one towards goal in the eighth minute, Glory midfielder Luke Amos found the side-netting rather than the back of the net but had Phoenix goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi worried none the less.
The Phoenix gloveman then produced a big save just two minutes later though as he thwarted Glory attacker Jaylan Pearman when he was put through one-on-one, with captain Adam Taggart left furious his young teammate didn’t square the ball for what would have been an easy tap-in.
Wellington had the crowd on their feet in the 14th minute when Hideki Ishige fired wide of the target following some excellent build-up play on the edge of the Glory box.
Oluwayemi then produced another smart save to deny Pearman, this time parrying a vicious strike from the youngster from the edge of the area to prevent the away side from taking the lead.
However the visitors did break the deadlock in the 34th minute and it was their captain who bagged his 85th goal for the club, and in some style.
Bending his run to perfection, Taggart kept himself onside as he controlled Yuto Misao’s ball in behind, chopped inside the scrambling Isaac Hughes before dispatching the ball beyond Oluwayemi to make it 1-0.
Glory then thought they’d doubled their lead shortly after as Pearman tapped home his fifth goal of the season, however the away side’s second would be chalked off after a VAR review deemed Trent Ostler to have been in an offside position despite their previously being a touch on the ball from a Wellington player.
In similar fashion to the first-half, Perth were carving out the game’s better chances after half-time as Taggart almost made it 2-0 in the 57th minute, however the experienced striker couldn’t get his feet sorted in time to steer home a deflected ball into the box.
The home side were having plenty of possession but doing little with it, however they carved out their best chance of the game in the 79th minute.
Connecting with a long ball forward, Corban Piper cushioned a header down and into the path of Barbarouses, however the veteran steered his falling half-volley inches wide of the far post.
Looking to put the game to bed, Glory’s Khoa Ngo was then denied inside the box by a strong save from Oluwayemi as he got down low to deflect the substitute’s powerful shot away from goal.
The away side did though put the icing on the cake deep into stoppage time as captain Taggart rounded out an incisive team move by dinking the ball over Oluwayemi to make it 2-0.
