Western United will welcome Perth Glory into Victoria on Friday night ahead of a three-match stand in Melbourne for the team in purple.
United will be out to bounce back from opening day defeat against Melbourne Victory, and there is plenty of history to go back on in meetings with the Glory.
In the four matches so far there have been major milestones for the Club and goals galore against Perth, and this one at AAMI Park has all the potential to create similar headlines.
19 October 2019 – Western United 1-1 Perth Glory
United’s first meeting with Perth Glory will forever be remembered and celebrated as the Club’s first home match.
Round 2 of the 2019/20 season saw United play its inaugural match at GMHBA Stadium, with the backing of around 7,000 people to kick start life for the Green and Black.
Panagiotis Kone scored the Club’s first goal on home soil just after half-time and United was set up for a memorable victory before Kristian Popovic equalised for the visitors 15 minutes from time.
That was the beginning of a special connection with Geelong that has resulted in matches still being played there into the Club’s third season, including its recent FFA Cup debut and A-League Men opener
12 August 2020 – Perth Glory 0-2 Western United
United’s first win against the Glory came at a crucial time in season one. As the league transitioned to a hub in Sydney after the emergence of COVID-19, United embarked on a superb run in chase of finals football.
Entering the Glory match with four wins in the last five matches, United extended its brilliant run on the back of a brace from Besart Berisha.
That was Perth’s final match of the season while the Green and Black still had two games remaining, and it set up a win against Sydney FC the following week that took United above Perth and into fifth place heading into the finals.
United then went on to beat Brisbane in the Elimination Final before falling just short of a Grand Final berth in the inaugural campaign.
23 January 2021 – Western United 5-4 Perth Glory
The third meeting between the two sides was by far the most action-packed, with a nine-goal thriller going the way of the home side.
Once again at GMHBA Stadium, United led into half-time courtesy of a Victor Sanchez goal, but chaos ensued in the second half with eight goals in a 28-minute stretch.
Perth hit the lead with a quickfire double before Dylan Pierias’ first two United goals wrestled the ascendancy back.
With the scores locked at 4-4 heading into the final minutes of the game, Steven Lustica netted the decisive strike in the 84th minute to earn a remarkable win.
12 May 2021 – Perth Glory 3-0 Western United
The last meeting between the two sides came as United hit a difficult run of form to close the season as Perth ran out 3-0 winners.
Early goals from Bruno Fornaroli and Chris Ikonomidis put the hosts on the front foot before Joel Chianese capped off the result late on.
That is the only time that Perth has beaten Western United to date, and John Aloisi will hope to avenge that result with his players on Friday night.
