Sydney FC held on for a 3-1 win over Perth Glory despite being reduced to nine men in their match against the A-League leaders this afternoon.
Both teams started at a frenetic pace at the Perth Oval but it was the visitors who registered the first shot of the match through Nikola Petkovic, although his long-range effort was never troubling the goalkeeper.
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Glory responded through Andy Keogh, who headed wide after meeting a Scott Jamieson cross, and the Irishman was in the action again midway through the half after heading straight at Vedran Janjetovic.
However, it was the visitors who took the lead on the half-hour mark through Marc Janko, who converted a spot kick after Alex Brosque was tugged back in the area.
The contest had been a competitive affair but with nine minutes remaining until the break, tensions boiled over as Perth's Dino Djulbic and Sydney's Jacques Faty were dismissed after an altercation.
The visitors looked the stronger of the two sides as the second half got underway, and they had a chance to double their lead when Janko was brought down in the box, giving Sydney another spot kick.
Milos Dimitrijevic stepped up to take the penalty, and he fired it straight down the middle to double the visitors' advantage with just over 20 minutes to play.
Sydney were dealt a blow when they were reduced to nine men just moments after scoring when Petkovic picked up his second yellow card for a handball.
The home side pulled a goal back as Denis Kramer pounced on a rebounded effort from Andrew Keogh to give Perth some late hope, but Scott Jamieson hit the wall with a free kick shortly after which would have drawn the sides level.
Sydney put the win beyond doubt late on though, as a poor clearance from Michael Thwaite set up Bernie Ibini-Isei for a tap-in.
The result leaves Sydney fifth in the table, while Perth stay top, just a point clear of Melbourne Victory.
Sian Cowper
