Melbourne Heart FC suffered defeat at the hands of Perth Glory, as sharp shooter Shane Smeltz struck twice in the second half of the clash at nib Stadium on Friday night
Melbourne Heart FC suffered defeat at the hands of Perth Glory, as sharp shooter Shane Smeltz struck twice in the second half of the clash at nib Stadium on Friday night
A goal from Adrian Zahra put the home side ahead in the 64th minute before the returning Shane Smeltz sealed the win with a late brace.
Substitute Dylan McAllister was sent off in his first match back from a hamstring injury after receiving two yellow cards during his 11 minutes on the pitch.
Heart were made to pay for missed chances, none better than when winger Mate Dugandzic found himself one-on-one with Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic late in the match, only to knock the ball wide of the goalmouth.
Smeltz scored his first two goals of an injury-interrupted season when he first outmuscled Aziz Behich and then was gifted a second.
It was a disappointing end for the Heart after working their way back into the match following a fast start from Glory.
Perth controlled possession in the first 15 minutes until Zahra was forced off the pitch with a cut head after an aerial clash with Heart defender Patrick Gerhardt.
Glory played with 10 men for seven minutes while Zahra was treated and the on-field advantage seemed to spark the visitors.
Patrick Gerhardt almost scored a priceless goal for Heart with a sliding effort that forced Vukovic to make a reflex save with his legs.
Vukovic was called into action again moments later to make a diving save to deny a long-range attempt from Nick Kalmar.
By that stage, Heart was dominating the match and would have taken the lead if Iain Ramsay had not hit the crossbar.
But they couldn-t make their early pressure count and were made to pay for a Glory side who look like an invigorated unit under the tutelage of Lowe.
Match Details
Hyundai A-League Round 14
Friday, 10 January 2014
Perth Glory 3 (Adrian ZAHRA 64-, Shane SMELTZ 85-, 89-)
Melbourne Heart 0
nib Stadium, Perth
Attendance: 9045
Referee: Peter Green
Perth Glory Starting XI: 1.Daniel VUKOVIC (GK), 2.Jack CLISBY, 7. Jacob BURNS, 11. Adrian ZAHRA, 14.Steven McGARRY, 15. Isaka CERNAK (9. Shane SMELTZ 74-), 16.Sidnei SCIOLA MORAES, 17. Chris HAROLD (6.Cameron EDWARDS 84-), 23.Michael THWAITE, 24.Matthew DAVIES, 25. Riley WOODCOCK,
Substitutes not used: 39. Luke RADONICH (GK), 3.Brandon O-NEILL, 19. Josh RISDON
Yellow cards: Cernak 30′
Red cards: Nil
Melbourne Heart FC Starting XI: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3.Robbie WIELAERT, 6.Patrick GERHARDT, 7.Iain RAMSAY, 8.Massimo MURDOCCA,10.Harry KEWELL (C) (9.Dylan MACALLISTER 70-), 11.Michael MIFSUD (15.David WILLIAMS 55-), 16.Aziz BEHICH, 17.Jason HOFFMAN, 22.Nick KALMAR, 23.Mate DUGANDZIC
Substitutes not used: 20.Tando VELAPHI (GK), 24.Patrick KISNORBO, 25.Andrea MIGLIORINI
Yellow cards Kewell 43-, Macallister 75-, 81-, Ramsay 90′, Gerhardt 90-
Red cards: Macallister 81-
