Perth Glory took a massive three points home from a visit to Melbourne, with a last minute winner from Josh Risdon sealing a win despite a Victory equaliser through Chris Cristaldo moments earlier. The win sees the Glory with all to play for next week, but what to take from this fantastic win?

Melbourne

Luck goes their way with decisions

Two decisions in particular are a case in point. Connor Pain’s dribble on the right flank had the ball clearly out of play, but the linesman missed it. The call could have proved costly to Perth as Cristaldo equalised directly from the play. Sam Galloway was lucky to not have conceded a penalty as he made contact on Steve McGarry in the penalty area to add to that botched call. The end result, it could easily be said, was justice for Perth.

Out of sync

Perhaps this was a certainty to happen with such an inexperienced XI fielded, far too many passes missed and there was no cohesion entering the front third. Ange made it clear how he felt about the performance; although it was clear that the effort was there but just not the style or precision needed to beat a form team.

Beaten in midfield

In the absence of Mark Milligan, Leigh Broxham and Billy Celeski paired alongside Jesse Makarounas. They needed to step up but they were outdone by McGarry, Matias Cordoba and Liam Miller. None quite played the role Milligan plays in shielding the back four. This is the worry, especially with two of Victory’s first team defenders (Nick Ansell and Adama Traore) missing with injury, what happens if Milligan gets injured? *note to Millsy, don’t walk under ladders*.

Poor defending

The Glory’s second goal proved the shining example of this, how any side can allow Miller that amount of time to find a target in the box is above me. Harold hammered home with a volley from that assist. The last minute demoraliser from Risdon was also farcical from the Victory’s end, the amount of time and space the full-back had is inexcusable with the game up for grabs.

“Dead rubber syndrome”?

Victory were in the odd position of being in a game where they had no chance of moving up on the table even if they won. That can have a negative impact, possibly leaving players to rest on their laurels. But with so many enthusiastic youth players running around, with all hoping to prove themselves, that can’t really apply to the weekend’s loss. Wellington away next week becomes more important, with the big three in Marco Rojas, Archie Thompson and Milligan back and a big win needed for momentum heading in to finals.

Perth

Deserved winners

This can’t be questionable on the balance of the 90, the confidence and flowing play on show was a far cry from where they’ve been. Josh Risdon’s last second goal was a peach and a fitting way to end it. Leaving without anything less than the three points would have been somewhat unjust. The Glory put in an even team performance to bring home three points.

Silly Miller

A yellow card was handed to the playmaker as he booted the ball away in frustration after a foul. That frustration sees his yellow card tally now at five and will see him sit out Perth’s biggest game of the season. To be so stupid at the business end is baffling, especially after a sublime performance like Miller put in on the weekend.

Midfield under control

Something Alistair Edwards has improved is the use of McGarry and players like Cordoba and Ryo Nagai. McGarry no longer occupies the playmaker area behind Smeltz, instead shifting further into midfield and allowing Miller to sit deeper feeding the strikers and wingers. They comfortably outplayed the Victory midfield three to help their side to a famous win.

Missing internationals? No worries

Shane Smeltz and Michael Thwaite are both integral to the Glory, with one (at his best) being a free-scoring forward, the other a versatile player either in defence or midfield. They didn’t seem to be missed much as the Glory put in a cohesive performance, which speaks volumes in itself. They should come in handy for the last day of the regular season and cancel out the losses of Dodd and Miller.

Finals and the Edwards effect

They now have momentum behind them and a home game in front of them to seal a finals berth. They must win against Adelaide, and they will have to do it without key players in Travis Dodd and Miller. Much of this resurgence can be put down to the ‘Ali Edwards’ effect, what he has done with the squad in remarkably short time is stunning. It does pose the question of where the Glory would be had Edwards been bought in earlier, it shall be intriguing to see how Edwards goes in the seasons ahead.