Ten-man Glory secure famous 1-0 win over Wanderers

Perth Glory have overcome the blow of receiving the second fastest red card in A-League Men history to pull off a famous 1-0 win over Western Sydney at HBF Park.

Defender Jordan Elsey was sent off after just 93 seconds on Friday for his clumsy studs-up challenge that caught Wanderers star Yeni Ngbakoto on his Achilles tendon.

The incident happened just 57 seconds into Friday night’s match, and referee Alex King consulted his linesman and assessed Ngbakoto on the turf before deciding to send off Elsey.

It matched the speed of the red card dished out to then-Victory goalkeeper Ante Covic, whose foul after just 57 seconds saw him red carded on 62 seconds.

Glory then defended heroically for the entire match, and caught a lucky break in the 84th minute when Wanderers defender Tomislav Mrcela was also red carded.

Mrcela was given his marching orders for a hold on David Williams after the Glory striker had intercepted the ball in the middle of the ground with only the goalkeeper ahead of him.

To complete their extraordinary night, Glory midfielder Aaron McEneff popped up five minutes into added time with the winner, his shot from the edge of the box deflecting off Wanderers defender Thomas Beadling and wrong footing goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas.

Glory’s sixth win of the season will go down as one of their most famous victories – but, more importantly, it lifted them back to within four points of sixth spot.

The Wanderers suffered a huge blow when star import Morgan Schneiderlin limped off with a leg injury after just 25 minutes.

The 33-year-old Frenchman was so frustrated, he angrily kicked an advertising hoarding.

Glory’s second-minute red card had earlier left the crowd stunned, but goalkeeper Cameron Cook pulled off a series of strong saves to keep the Wanderers at bay.

Cook palmed away Adama Traore’s long-range strike, dived well to deflect Schneiderlin’s shot, and managed to block a sliding strike from Brandon Borrello.

The Wanderers continued to push in the second half, with both Borrello and Calem Nieuwenhof hitting the upright among a flurry of chances for the visitors.

Nieuwenhof was denied by the woodwork again in the 78th minute when his close-range shot cannoned off the underside of the crossbar.

Cook pulled off some more important saves, and the game was on even keel when Mrcela was sent off.

Glory pushed hard for the winner, and were rewarded when McEneff produced the goods to send the crowd wild.