Top of the table Perth Glory hosted a Sydney FC that arguably have not hit their stride yet, but still found themselves on the losing side.

Sydney FC’s play relied largely on frustrating Perth, which worked to significant effect as Glory were often found doing little with their good build up work.

Sydney FC were arguably lucky to have beaten Western Sydney Wanderers in the derby last week and the weaknesses Steve Corica’s side showed in the weeks before against Wellington, the Central Coast and Melbourne Victory were stamped out against a previously unbeaten Perth side.

Having scored a late goal, Glory were seemingly heading towards a late resurgence before a ruled out Brendon Santalab equaliser, still, Chris Ikonomidis was bright all night.

Not much else can be said about Ikonomidis’ return to the Socceroos ahead of the Asian Cup, other than it's a pleasure to have him hitting his stride on our screens every week.

Perth Glory

Liam Reddy — 7

Exceptional reflexes were displayed by Reddy late on in the first half in a double save. Was not at fault for either of Sydney’s goals.

Tomislav Mrcela — 7

Strongly dealt with Sydney’s efforts and was the stronger of Perth’s defensive trio.

Dino Djulbic — 4

Found his lack of speed often worked against him as Sydney’s attacking quadrant smartly put him under constant heavy pressure.

Played some awful aerial passes and was simply poor. Earned an assist late on as he headed forward the ball for Ikonomidis to score.

Shane Lowry — 6

Sloppy in some of his defensive work, to his own chagrin. Tried to spur his side late on.

Ivan Franjic — 7

Ever present up and down his flank and was always an option going forward. Alongside his former Asian Cup winning teammate Jason Davidson, the wingback was Glory’s best outlet in their build up.

Jason Davidson — 7

Had a lot of freedom going forward and a lot of competition with Rhyan Grant in front of him. Began to tire and became predictable with his crossing later on in the match.

Neil Kilkenny — 7

Precise in his defensive and attacking output, spraying some lovely lofted passes around the field.

Juande — 7

Consistently a source of relief with his distribution, misplacing his passes on the rare occasion.

Jake Brimmer — 6.5

Rarely found good space to work in and thus mostly played it safe when he was given the ball in the first half. Had a better second period.

Andy Keogh — 5

Unsighted and anonymous throughout the match despite his best efforts.

Chris Ikonomidis — 8

Set up alongside Keogh up front in a role that has been tipped as a possible position for the former Lazio man in the Asian Cup.

His best work came about as he dropped in to create and to build up something resembling an attack. Added another goal before heading off to the UAE for the Asian Cup as he tapped home a late consolation.

Substitutes

Joel Chianese — 6

Despite a successful season so far and solid performance against the Newcastle Jets last round, the winger was dropped to the bench. Had some poor touches in moments where his side needed him to be better.

Brendon Santalab — 6

Replaced Keogh and thought he had a late equaliser until it was ruled out for a Chianese foul on Redmayne.

Scott Neville — 7

Made a very positive impact, showing real desire to push his team forward.

Sydney FC

Andrew Redmayne — 7

Threw his gangly arms up, down, in and around to keep things controlled in the air.

Impressively blocked Keogh’s shot in the first half with his body. While he had contact on him in the lead up to Santalab’s ruled out goal, he smartly exaggerated the extent of Chianese’s shirt tug.

Rhyan Grant — 7

Having celebrated ten years in a Sky Blue shirt and an Asian Cup squad call up for the Socceroos, fortune continually favoured Grant against the Glory.

Aaron Calver — 7

Replaced the Dutchman Jop van der Linden in the starting eleven and was largely unfazed next to Alex Wilkinson.

Alex Wilkinson — 8

Effectively marked Keogh out of the game and was enormous in keeping his side on their toes defensively. Wilkinson again demonstrated why he is one of the best in the A-League.

Michael Zullo — 7

Zullo was smartly balanced in his movement up and down the pitch, rarely letting his side down in getting back to maintain the shape of the back four.

Josh Brillante — 7

His work is best done off the ball, it's found particularly in the pressure he puts on in midfield and the space he subsequently creates. Overhit a few of his passes and shots waywardly.

Brandon O’Neill — 8

An industrious performance from O’Neill, he full of the flair he has shown even in his side’s weaker moments this season.

Rumoured to be on the move to the English Championship in January, which would be exponential for the midfielder.

Milos Ninkovic — 7.5

It has been said in recent weeks that Ninkovic appears to have lost some of his match fitness, but he was effective tonight in putting pressure on the Glory backline.

Faded out at times in the first half until he caused trouble with his header in the lead up to Adam le Fondre’s opener. Showed his magic in playing through de Silva for his goal.

Siem de Jong — 8

Displayed some sublime deft touches to link through the midfield, leading to a few exquisite passages of play. Supported his side well defensively, tracking back and intercepting smartly on a few occasions. Substituted on 60 minutes.

Alex Brosque — 8

Sydney’s captain was involved throughout the match all over the pitch, persistently putting the Glory defence under the pump and showing his experience and quality in tight moments.

Adam Le Fondre — 7

The collective jeering around the stadium was much heftier than the cheers of Sydney’s limited away fans, as Le Fondre found the back of the net following a scramble in the box with a typical strong poacher’s finish.

Popped up when he needed to.

Substitutes

Paulo Retre — 6

Threw himself about, often frustrating Perth even further with his work off the ball.

Daniel de Silva — 8

Returned home to Perth in Sky Blue colours and was involved almost immediately, as he played through Grant to cross and found his follow up blocked.

Mere seconds later, Ninkovic’s lovely through ball found de Silva’s run in behind and after a cheeky shimmy, de Silva planted the ball beyond Liam Reddy. Great contribution off the bench.