Perth Glory head coach David Zdrilic lauded match-winning young gun Jaylan Pearman after Saturday night’s shock win over Isuzu UTE A-League leaders Auckland FC.
Pearman was the hero at HBF Park, where the 18-year-old’s first A-Leagues goal not only stunned Auckland but ended 12th-placed Perth’s seven-game losing streak at home.
“So whenever he is ready to go, no pressure. Just come in and enjoy it really. He has really taken those words. He has very good feet. It was the strength… in training he was getting knocked off the ball a but he’s got a lot stronger.
“You can see now, that’s a very physical team Auckland and he was winning a lot of balls, so winning balls and holding it up. Then his finishing, left and right football is just phenomenal. He has scored many goals like that.
The odds were well and truly stacked against Zdrilic’s Glory heading into the Round 13 fixture in Perth.
Perth had only won one of their opening 12 matches and were facing an Auckland side looking to cement their place atop the standings.
But the Glory had other ideas thanks to Pearman as they celebrated a priceless victory in front of their fans.
“When you’re not getting the results… I know what these guys can do but then it’s that belief. But these guys keep resetting and going again,” Zdrilic reflected.
“That first-half performance was excellent. Even the goal that was disallowed, you saw how they celebrated but they just kept going. In this situation, you have to really applaud that.
“I thought in the end, it was deserved. They had their chances and again, goal-clearances are just as important as chances at the other end. But for me it was the ability to create a lot of chances at home. Probably there were more moments that should have become big chances, but generally we didn’t sit back and soak it up.
