Farce and fury as Glory conquers City in controversial victory

PERTH defeated a 10-man Melbourne City 3-1 in a Friday night A-League contest that had come precariously close to farce.

Mitch Nichols, Xavi Torres and Mitchell Mallia scored the goals at AAMI Park, with rein- stated City striker Ross McCormack replying with a stunning free-kick.

But a first-half video referee decision changed the match, with Osama Malik contentiously sent off for a late studsup tackle on Glory youngster Jacob Italiano.

Before Malik’s dismissal and Torres’s penalty conver- sion, the contest was evenly poised.

McCormack’s set piece cancelled out Nichols’s 12th-minute opener in a match played at ferocious intensity and in a thunderstorm.

There was yet more firsthalf drama.

Andy Keogh was forced off with a leg injury and his coach Kenny Lowe became the first manager to receive a yellow card under the world-first ALeague trial. But nothing had the impact of the VAR, which will face heated criticism after another game-changing intervention.

Referee Daniel Elder originally missed the clash between Malik and Italiano, with the official upstairs suggesting the review.

No one at City could believe the reversal — after a twominute delay — and least of all Malik, who faces a lengthy ban after his second red card of the season.

Warren Joyce led the protestations off the bench, with City’s players venting their frustration across the rest of the match. City battled valiantly to get back into the match.

Joyce threw on Tim Cahill for the final 20 minutes as they chased the game and the Socceroo had the ball in the net on 73 minutes with a thumping volley, only to be deemed offside.