Perth Glory and Sydney FC battled to an entertaining draw at the Sam Kerr Centre in Round 10 of the Ninja A-League on Friday evening. A goal from Caitlin Doeglas on her return to Perth and a stunning equaliser by Sydney’s Lucy Johnson ensured the points were shared in this topsy-turvy contest.
Sydney started the game on the front foot, with Perth goalkeeper Casey Dumont making crucial saves to deny Shea Connors twice in the opening 20 minutes. However, the tide shifted as the home team began dominating possession, pushing Sydney deeper into their half.
Perth broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. A cross from Miku Sunaga caused confusion in Sydney’s defence, with goalkeeper Tahllia Franco misjudging the ball’s flight. Gabrielle Hollar capitalized, pulling it back for Doeglas to slot home calmly to cap off a remarkable week, which saw her drafted in as an injury replacement. This was her 50th game for Glory, but her first since March 2021.
The goal spurred Sydney into action and they regained control of possession. Despite solid defending by Dumont, Naomi Chinnama, Onyinyechi Zogg, and Georgia Cassidy, Sydney found their equaliser in first-half injury time. Johnson picked up the ball outside the area and unleashed a left-footed strike that eluded Dumont’s dive, levelling the scores.
Sydney came out strongly after the break, with Dumont again thwarting efforts from Indiana Dos Santos, Mackenzie Hawkesby, and Princess Ibini. Just as Sydney looked likely to grab the winner, Perth rallied in the final quarter of the match. With the wind at their backs and Sydney showing signs of fatigue, Perth pressed for a late goal. Ella Lincoln and Cassidy came close, with the latter’s injury-time free-kick narrowly missing the target.
At the final whistle, the draw lifted Sydney off the bottom of the table to 11th place, while Perth remained three points ahead in 10th.
Caitlin Doeglas Comeback
Caitlin Doeglas capped a memorable week with her 24th-minute goal. Signed just days earlier, she started the match on Friday after a last-minute call-up. Doeglas, a Perth regular from 2015 to 2021, had been playing in the NPLW in WA before an ACL injury. She then moved to NSW to play in the NPLW before returning to Perth in 2024. Joining Perth RedStar, she became a key player, scoring 17 goals and contributing significantly to the team’s success as treble-winning champions. Her stellar form earned her a place in Glory’s train-on squad, and with a long-term injury to Kelli Brown the opportunity to play for Glory after a 4-year absence presented itself, and she grabbed it with both hands.
Coach Stephen Peters praised her versatility:
“What I think is good about her is she’s got a bit to her game. She can play in behind, play back to goal, can use both feet and it doesn’t seem to phase her so I think we’ve picked up a good one there. So that’s another WA player to the list, which we’re proud about,” he said.
Windy Conditions (Again)
The notorious Fremantle Doctor once again played a pivotal role in this game, complicating play for both sides and both coaches commented on it in their post-match discussion, with Peters admitting his team have a problem with the wind at their back:
“I think they use the wind too literally and just start hitting it (long). They’ve got to show a little bit more composure. I think tonight was interesting because we had the wind against us in the first half and we used it well and then in the back end of the second half we could have scored with the Cassidy free kick as the wind helped it. There’s a bit of psychology about it, so I’m working with the staff about how we can manage that,” he said.
Sydney coach Ante Juric echoed the sentiment, calling wind the worst condition for football:
“The wind is the worst condition to play in. I’d rather play rain as the wind just changes the game. (Both teams) tried to find the floor, then second half when it got scrappy it was in the air and going everywhere and maybe that had something to do with our poor last 15 minutes,” he said.
Can Sydney Make The Finals?
The draw leaves Sydney eight points adrift of 6th-placed Canberra United and with just one win all season, the reigning champions face an uphill battle to make the finals. Despite this, Juric remains optimistic:
“There’s no pressure, because I’m not made up that way. We’re going to do everything to get there, and that’s all I can ask of myself, and my players. I’ve told them you can’t sit there and feel sorry for yourself, you’ve just got to keep working and keep sticking together. Yes, we can’t afford to lose many games, but we’re the Champions of Australia and we’re not going to give that up without a fight.” he said.
Sydney’s lack of consistency, however, remains a concern. To have any chance of reaching the finals, they’ll need to put together a sustained unbeaten run—something they’ve yet to show signs of achieving.
Perth’s Long Range Weakness
Of the 18 goals Perth Glory have conceded eight have now come from shots outside of the penalty area, which is a league-high. This is something that Peters is well aware of and he expressed his frustration about his teams inability to prevent this from happening:
“We’ve just got to stop copping goals like that, these floaty long-range things. I don’t know how, but you know, every week we seem to be talking about it,” he said.
The goal on Friday was another case in point with Johnson not being put under any real pressure before getting her shot away. What would be doubly disappointing for Stephens is that this was the second time in two weeks that Johnson has scored from long range so it would be assumed this would have been a point of reference in the pre-match briefings.
Playing at Midnight
Sydney seemed poised to grab a late winner with 15 minutes to go but faded under Perth’s growing pressure. The 7 p.m. WST kickoff (10 p.m. AEDT) may have contributed to their struggles, as the match neared midnight Eastern time by he time the final whistle blew. Fatigue and concentration issues likely played a role in Perth finishing the stronger of the two sides.
