From a disallowed goal to a red card and a questionable penalty decision, Perth Glory head coach Ruben Zadkovich had much frustration to vent after the side’s final match of the season against Western United.
In what could have been Perth’s last-ditch efforts to reach a finals spot, the side was originally heading into Saturday night’s clash against Western United with high hopes.
That was until Oskar Zawada sealed a Wellington Phoenix 1-0 win over Macarthur FC just hours before kick off in the west. The victory saw Wellington secure their position in sixth place, derailing any chances for Glory to nab a finals position in the last match of the regular season.
Head coach Ruben Zadkovich said the result on the east coast certainly impacted his players’ mentality heading into their match against John Aloisi’s side.
“I came into the dressing sheds, and it was definitely an interesting vibe in the dressing room. Not because the players don’t care, it’s just a hard thing. Human emotions is a very difficult thing to harness, and I’m sure most of my players and staff watched that game and were disappointed that Wellington didn’t get beat,” Zadkovich said.
“So, there is this sense of disappointment and just watching the dynamic in the dressing room and to pick them up and steer them into the right mindset was an interesting task.”
To make matters worse, Glory suffered a questionable disallowed goal just after half-time believed to be caused by Ryan Williams interfering with a shot while in an offside position.
If allowed, the home side would have been leading the visitors 2-1 yet fans were left angry and confused while watching the replay on the big screen.
Zadkovich said even he was baffled by the decision.
“I felt like we should have had a goal, I’m not sure why it was disallowed. The fourth official told us initially that it was because Taggart was offside, which he wasn’t and then as it went on it turned into, ‘Oh it’s deflected off Ryan Williams who is offside’ but it didn’t. Their goalkeeper told us after the game it didn’t touch anybody, and he had a clear line of sight so I’m not quite sure why we didn’t have a goal,” he said.
“That goal, if I’m honest would have changed the game dramatically because they would have had to score two and we would have been able to see the game out from there.”
Moments later, Noah Botic put Western United in front with his tap-in against Glory keeper Cameron Cook, adding more tension to the crowd.
Just when things couldn’t get much worse for Perth, captain Mark Beevers was sent off for pulling the shirt of Dylan Pierias in a final third attacking attempt
This was then followed up by what many believed was a clear-cut penalty for the home side as Zimarino appeared to have been fouled in the box.
Zadkovich expressed his frustrations at both instances.
“If you get a chance ask him [Mark Beevers] I’m sure he’s pretty disappointed and probably thinks that he let the team down which you know at a crucial time we could have done with keeping him on the pitch,” he said.
“I’ve watched the penalty back and it’s a stonewall penalty. It’s not even in question. He throws his arm across Zimarino’s face… so those two moments and then obviously the Beevers red card where he’s probably made a mistake there. They’re three pivotal moments that have cost us points that are crucial in a crucial game.”
Perth and Western United’s regular seasons came to an end following Saturday night’s match and both will be looking to improve over the break to ensure they qualify for next year’s finals.
Featured Image Credit: Darren Speedie
Enjoy this content? Support The Football Sack
Due in part to COVID and lack of current sponsorship we are at risk of not having the funds to continue running The Football Sack. If you enjoy our content and support our work in training talented young writers, please support us with a donation. If every reader contributed just $3, our funding would be covered for over ten years.
| DONATE |
