Perth Glory have managed to snap a seven-game losing streak by holding Melbourne Heart to a scoreless draw at nib Stadium tonight. Perth supplied warm conditions, with the mercury reaching 27 degrees, in a match which was dominated by the Heart for long periods but the visitors were unable to hit the target as the Glory would have been wrapped to begin the climb out of their recent rut.
A-League Week 12 - midweekPerth Glory: 0 Melbourne Heart: 0
Venue: nib Stadium, Perth Crowd: 5,725 Referee: Chris Beath Yellow cards:PG - Michael Baird 11', Brent Griffiths 39', Andy Todd 72', Howard Fondyke 77', Robbie Fowler 77' MH - Michael Marrone 67', Rutger Worm 72'
Perth had the best early chance with a confident move but first-gamer Tommy Amphlett's shot was saved by Heart keeper Clint Bolton after Glory veterans Andy Todd and Mile Sterjovski were getting involved.
The Glory were threatening in the early stages as the Heart were finding it difficult to get a midfield flow but the visitors began to work into the match with plenty of possession on the ball.
The home side's defence was performing well, providing good transition play into midfield, allowing striker Michael Baird to get busy up front but neither side really troubled the opposition keeper as the Heart ended the half looking sluggish whilst Perth were playing in a positive fashion.
The Heart started to dictate terms early in the second term but Perth were intent on not being beaten for an eighth-straight match and continued to work hard.
Nick Kalmar was constantly getting into good scoring positions for the visitors and was getting increasingly closer to scoring the winner but the Glory fought back yet again and almost found a goal when Sterjovski missed the target when unmarked in the area.
A late header from Heart substitute Eli Babalj was denied by the post as John van 't Schip's men had to settle for a point on the road whilst the Glory would have been happy with a vital point to end a run of losses.
Starting Line-Ups
PG Tando Velaphi (gk), Jamie Coyne, Brent Griffiths, Andy Todd, Scott Neville, Todd Howarth, Howard Fondyke (Pellegrino 77'), Jacob Burns, Tommy Amphlett (Fowler 66'), Mile Sterjovski, Michael Baird (Mitchell 78')p>Subs - Aleks Vrteski (gk), Robbie Fowler (66'), Adriano Pellegrino (77'), Josh Mitchell (78')
MH Clint Bolton (gk), Aziz Behich, Matt Thompson, Michael Beauchamp, Michael Marrone, Nick Kalmar, Josip Skoko, Simon Colosimo, Rutger Worm (Heffernan 90'), Gerald Sibon (Babalj 58'), Adrian Zahra (Hoffman 86')
Subs - Peter Zois (gk), Dean Heffernan (90'), Jason Hoffman (86'), Eli Babalj (58')
