A-League 2024/25: Five-minute blitz leaves Perth glory empty-handed

Two goals in five minutes scuppered Perth Glory’s hopes of recording just their third victory of the 2024/25 A-League season on Saturday.

Glory spurned numerous opportunities against Melbourne Victory, and were punished as the visitors netted two quickfire goals to silence the sizeable home crowd.

While Glory failed to build on their recent 2-2 draw at Newcastle Jets, the club’s decision to give away thousands of free tickets for the game paid dividends.

More than 11,000 fans attended the game and Perth owner Ross Pelligra hopes they will return when the team host Centra Coast Mariners later this week.

“I would like to personally thank everyone who made up our fantastic crowd of 11,035,” Pelligra said. “You created an incredible atmosphere which truly gave me goosebumps as I watched on from Italy.

“I’m just sorry that we were not able to reward your loyalty and passion with a win on this occasion. That said, the team put in a huge effort and were so unfortunate to come away empty-handed.

“We would love to see you all back at HBF Park on Friday evening for another big game against the Mariners. On behalf of the board, staff and players, thank you again for your magnificent support.”

The Mariners head into the game as the bookmakers’ favourites to win the game, and odds of 23/20 may tempt Australian punters looking for a value bet.

The reigning A-League champions were held to a 2-2 draw by Newcastle last weekend, but will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways against Perth.

The Mariners have won four and drawn eight of their 16 league games this season and need to start picking up victories if they are to progress to the end of season play-offs.

They are rated as 28/1 shots by several betting sites to win the title for the third successive season, but those odds will vanish if they string a winning run together.

The betting experts at BettingTop10 Australia will be a keeping a close eye on the Mariners as the season reaches the business end given their track record of success in the past two years.

Auckland FC maintained their status as the bookies’ favourites to win the A-League title courtesy of a thrilling 2-1 victory over Macarthur Bulls.

Louis Verstraete’s late winner moved them five points clear of Adelaide United, who slipped to a dismal 4-1 defeat at Sydney FC.

Joe Lolley rounded off a fantastic Sydney FC move to make it 1-0 with his ninth goal of the season, before turning provider as Patryk Klimala doubled the lead.

Dylan Pierias reduced the deficit for United, but further goals by Adrian Segecic and Anthony Caceres crowned a superb all-round performance by the home side.

Western Sydney Wanderers halted a two-game losing streak with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Friday.

Bozhidar Kraev’s eighth-minute header was the difference between the two sides as Wanderers defeated Brisbane for the first time since May 2021.

Wanderers remain in contention to finish the season inside the top six. They are three points behind sixth-placed Macarthur with a game in hand.

Auckland and Adelaide look nailed on to secure a play-off place, but which teams will join them in the post-season shoot-out is less clear.

Victory are currently in third place, level on points with Western United. Sydney FC, Macarthur and Melbourne City are just one point behind that pair.

With Western Sydney, Central Coast and Wellington Phoenix not too far adrift, a thrilling end to the regular season is on the cards.

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