Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS

Auckland have been toppled from the top of the A-League Men ladder after suffering a shock 1-0 loss to strugglers Perth Glory in front of 5390 fans at HBF Park.

Glory entered Saturday night’s match having lost their past seven games at home, knowing one more loss would equal the league record currently held by Brisbane.

But a 29th-minute rocket from 18-year-old striker Jaylan Pearman and some goalkeeping heroics from Oliver Sail helped lift Glory to victory.

.@PerthGloryFC LEAD Auckland FC at HBF Park! ??Jaylan Pearman scores his first Isuzu UTE A-League goal in style, after Glory were denied an early opener for offside.? Watch #PERvAKL live NOW on Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/ifcFwFpSoT? Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) January 11, 2025

Auckland (23 points) started the round in top spot, but their second loss of the season dropped them to third.

Glory (eight points) remain in second-last spot on the ladder and still a whopping 11 points adrift of sixth spot.

But their second win of the season – and first home victory since a 3-2 win over Brisbane on February 17 last year – will at least momentarily ease the pressure on first-year coach David Zdrilic.

“I’m really pleased for the guys, because they’ve been working hard,” Zdrilic said.

“It’s not easy to cop some of these results, especially the one last time at home when we thought we had won the game and ended up losing it in five minutes (to two late Western United goals).”

There was early drama when Glory attacker Jarrod Carluccio’s eighth-minute goal was ruled out by VAR, with replays showing Pearman was slightly offside in the lead-up.

Carluccio was left bewildered by the decision, but he kept his focus and played a key role in setting up Pearman for Glory’s first goal.

The fleet feet of Carluccio allowed him to squeeze through two opponents before squaring the ball for Pearman, who unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box to send the home fans into raptures.

There was big concern for the health of Hiroki Sakai just moments before half-time when the Auckland skipper was felled by a rocket strike from Glory defender Zach Lisolajski.

Sakai copped the ball right on his temple, and lay motionless on the ground as medical staff rushed towards him.

The Japanese defender looked wobbly when he was helped to his feet a few minutes later, and he was immediately subbed out of the match.

Glory goalkeeper Sail pulled off a series of stunning saves in the second half, and his Auckland counterpart Alexander Paulsen was also in hot form as both sides created a glut of chances.

HOW DID HE MISS FROM THERE?! ?Max Mata had a ?????? chance to equalise against Perth Glory ?? Watch #PERvAKL live NOW on Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/RFTDmDSvAO? Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) January 11, 2025

Auckland substitute Max Mata had a golden chance to level the scores in the 68th minute, but he scooped his shot over the bar from close range.

There was late drama when Glory speedster Andriano Lebib ran almost the entire length of the field before being cut down from behind by Adama Coulibaly just as he was about to enter the box.

Coulibaly was shown a straight red card, ending Auckland’s hopes of snatching a draw.

“We lost the game in the first half, simple as that,” Auckland coach Steve Corica said.

“We didnt play well, we didn’t compete well. We weren’t winning any second balls.”