Melbourne Victory Men’s came away as 1-0 winners in a pre-season friendly clash with Perth Glory in Mandurah, led to victory by a Jordi Valadon goal.
Taking on the Glory in Mandurah for the first of two games against the WA-based side, Victory were keen to put in a good shift against a fellow Isuzu UTE A-League team.
Included in the starting XI for their first-ever Victory appearances, midfielders Denis Genreau and Matthew Grimaldi joined the lineup alongside fellow off-season recruits, Keegan Jelacic and Louis D’Arrigo.
Perth started well at Peelwood Reserve, creating a few chances early on and forcing a save out of Victory goalkeeper Jack Duncan in the 10th minute.
Victory progressively worked their way into the clash, with former Glory player Jelacic producing some promising moments down the right wing.
Genreau would float a cross for Jelacic in the 21st minute, but the 23-year-old winger could not find the back of the net with his leaping header.
Experienced heads for both sides would enter the book across the remainder of the half, with Victory captain Roderick Miranda and Glory midfielder Brandon O’Neill both receiving yellow tickets.
The score would remain level at the break with both sides fighting to break the deadlock.
The hosts would make two substitutes at the break, while electric Brazilian winger Santos was introduced by Victory head coach Arthur Diles for the second 45.
Just minutes after the restart, Victory medallist Jordi Valadon would stride to the edge of the box and fire an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner, securing the opening goal.
The Vuck began to enjoy the momentum, with Grimaldi almost scoring an impressive goal of his own in the 50th minute.
However, the Glory began to pull back control after a yellow card to Santos in the 56th minute, forcing Duncan into another save one minute later and a clearing punch soon after.
Kiwi left-back Sam Sutton would also come close to equalising for the Glory, rattling the post from 40 metres out.
Entering the final half-hour of action, Diles turned to his bench and introduced Kayne Razmovski, Malik Olukhale, Jason Davidson, Jack Warshawsky, Xavier Stella and Oliver Dragicevic as time progressed.
Santos would come close to scoring a second for Victory in the 74th minute, while some excellent defending by the Vuck saw a late glory chance in the box blocked.
Victory managed to successfully close out the game, celebrating a positive result and pre-season hit-out, with many new faces and young talents receiving valuable game time.
Victorious in Mandurah, our boys in blue will go up against the Glory once more in Bunbury on Wednesday, September 24, at 8:30pm (AEST).
Match Details
Perth Glory 0
Melbourne Victory 1 (Valadon 47′)
Melbourne Victory Starting XI: 25. Jack DUNCAN (GK), 3. Adama TRAORÉ, 4. Lachlan JACKSON, 8. Jordi VALADON, 9. Nikos VERGOS, 10. Denis GENREAU, 14. Matthew GRIMALDI, 21. Roderick MIRANDA (C), 22. Joshua RAWLINS, 23. Keegan JELACIC, 27. Louis D’ARRIGO
Substitutes: 40. Oskar VON SCHRENK (GK), 50. Jack WARSHAWSKY (GK) (70′), 2. Jason DAVIDSON (70′), 11. SANTOS (46′), 19. Jing REEC, 28. Kayne RAZMOVSKI (62′), 31. Daniel LAZAREVSKI, 41. Malik OLUKHALE (62′), 42. Xavier STELLA (70′), 43. Oliver DRAGICEVIC (85′), 44. George MIHAILIDIS
