Glory shares points with Adelaide

Perth Glory and Adelaide United have fought out the third scoreless draw in this weekend’s Hyundai A-League Pre-Season Cup round, in front of packed terraces at Dorrien Gardens in Perth today.

In his first game as Glory coach, Ron Smith named an attacking line-up, with star recruit Stan Lazaridis starting on the left wing and the pacey Leo Bertos operating on the right. Naum Sekulovski joined Stuart Young up front, while 17-year-old Aleks Vrteski started in goal.

The visitors were under-strength, with recent signings Shengqing Qu and Bobby Petta yet to arrive in Australia, and Fernando Rech and Dez Giraldi both nursing injuries.

It was a tight opening 10 minutes, as both sides tried to settle into the game, however the home side took control with Lazaridis and Bertos prominent on the flanks. The Glory strung together some excellent passes, aided by the impressive combination of Stuart Young and Adrian Webster.

The latter was almost through on goal, but Adelaide Goalkeeper Robert Bajic was off his line quickly to diffuse the danger. Webster, with his storming runs, continued to cause problems for the Adelaide defence and was almost rewarded on 19 minutes, when his powerful long-range effort sailed just wide of the post with Bajic beaten.

The visitors settled in slowly and on 25 minutes had their best chance of the game. Travis Dodd worked hard on the right to deliver a deep cross to the back post, which Robert Cornthwaite headed down to striker Carl Veart, then cleared by Glory’s captain Jamie Harnwell. Seven minutes later, Adelaide did have the ball in the back, though when Matthew Kemp tapped home after a fumble from Vrteski in the Glory goal, fortunately for the young custodian, Kemp was deemed to be in an offside position.

Both teams continued to use the wings, with Lazaridis delivering a number of quality balls into the box, but too no avail, the score remained locked at half time.

Adelaide made inroads after the break and had two golden opportunities 10 minutes into the second half. Michael Valkanis crashed his header against the crossbar from a corner, before substitute Nathan Burns had his one-on-one shot easily held by his Young Socceroo teammate Vrteski.

The Glory regained the ascendancy, with Lazaridis constantly a threat on the left side, with his skillful dribbling on show for all to see. David Micevski almost broke the deadlock when his stinging shot from 25 yards was palmed over the bar by Bajic and then Ryan Townsend headed over the bar minutes later from a Bertos free kick.

Ron Smith then rested Lazaridis and Micevski for Despotovski and Robertson, but neither team could snatch a goal, with the defence held tight and both clubs sharing the points.

Following the match, new Perth Glory Head Coach, Ron Smith was impressed by his new team’s performance, after leading them for less than a week and with only three full training sessions.

“Today was the first time for me to get up close and personal with the squad, if you like, and I was very pleased with what they delivered,” said Smith.

“They showed a lot of discipline and the right attitude, which gave us strong competitive spirit out there.

“Lazaridis made an enormous contribution and he played much longer than I expected to have him there. Especially considering that it was his first game back for several weeks. The effort of players like Bertos was also particularly pleasing, and the fact that he lasted the full 90 minutes at that pace really impressed me.

“We’ll be competitive, there’s no doubt about that. Based on what I’ve seen today, I’m really looking forward to working here.”

Reflecting on his debut match with Perth Glory, Lazaridis said he was pleased to be able to pull on the boots for the first time in several weeks.

“I was relatively pleased with how I went. The first full game I played was three months ago, so I was conscious of my fitness going into the game today. But I feel I held up well and it was really energising to be able to play with the boys for the first time. There’s a great spirit in the squad.”

“I’m looking forward to working under Ron and if he can help to bring out the best in me, then that should deliver for the team and for the fans,” Lazaridis said.

“One of my main objectives for the season, and the reason I’m back in Perth, is to bring more Perth Glory members and fans to our games and to excite the crowd. I love being here and hope I can achieve that.”

The Glory now sit third in their group, ahead of next weekend’s bonus round, where they will travel east to Wollongong for a battle with A-League champions and glamour club, Sydney FC.