A-League newcomers Western United have maintained their unbeaten start to their historic A-League season, playing out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Perth Glory at GMHBA Stadium.
Western United opened the scoring through a delightful strike from marquee Panagiotis Kone, before Kristian Popovic - son of current Perth A-League coach Tony - salvaged a point for the Glory with a late header on Saturday.
"When you think about the first half, it was very dominant display - we really controlled the game," Glory coach Tony Popovic said post-match.
"Unfortunately we couldn't take the lead and then they scored early in the second half which gave them real injection of energy and you could see that they were really (coming) into the game and they were really believing they could get more.
"So it was important that we could stay in the game in that period - Liam (Reddy) made some good saves and the boys that came on obviously gave us some good energy and got us back in it."
The first half was an enterprising but ultimately scoreless affair, but the game came alive after the break when a sublime strike from Kone opened United's account in the 49th minute.
Scott McDonald took possession on the left and cut the ball back to Kone, who took a touch then unleashed a savage strike past Liam Reddy.
The goal gave United even more impetus, with Alessandro Diamanti forcing a fingertip save from Reddy in the 58th minute - then two minutes later, Besart Berisha headed home, only to be denied by the offside flag.
Perth challenged for an equaliser in the 67th minute when Gregory Wuthrich found the head of fellow defender Kim Soobeom, forcing a Kurto save.
Then a substitution paid off for Glory, with Popovic equalising in the 76th minute, just eight minutes after entering the game.
Neil Kilkenny sent a dipping ball over the United defence to Popovic, who directed a powerful header past Kurto for his first A-League goal.
In the 82nd minute, United had the chance to re-take the lead when Berisha found Kone, with the midfielder's powerful strike forcing a save from Reddy - only for Berisha's follow-up to be off-target.
Three minutes later, United substitute Dylan Pierias beat the Glory defence with a dashing run forward, only to hit the crossbar.
Then, in the 90th minute, Kone dragged a long-range shot wide, leaving his side to settle for a draw.
"The second half was certainly more positive than the first half," Western United coach Mark Rudan said.
"We rectified things at halftime and ultimately we got a point against a very, very good side ... they've recruited better and gotten better players this year than they have last year.
"You've got to take a lot of positives away from that game."
Australian Associated Press
