Perth Glory came within two minutes off a famous AFC Champions League triumph before slipping to a heartbreaking 2-1 loss against Ulsan Hyundai.
Daniel Stynes’ 71st-minute strike broke the deadlock and set the Western Australians on course for their first ever win in Asia’s elite club competition on Tuesday night.
But the Korea Republic outfit rallied in the closing moments and Kim In-sung’s 89th-minute equaliser was swiftly followed by a 93rd-minute winner from Brazilian substitute striker Júnior Negrão.
Despite the crushing finish at the Education City Stadium in Ar-Rayyan, Qatar, Glory head coach Richard Garcia had nothing but praise for his players.
“It was a fantastic performance from the group. They were very patient, very disciplined and played well as a team,” Garcia told perrthglory.com.au.
“They probably deserved more out of the game, but that's the harshness of football and there were plenty of positives to work off in that performance.”
FIXTURE RELEASE: Key dates and blockbuster clashes in A-League Season 2020/21
A-LEAGUE SEASON 2020/21 FIXTURES: Perth Glory
A third straight defeat in Group F leaves the Western Australians’ hopes of advancing to the knockout stages hanging by a thread, heading into the return match against Ulsan on Friday, 27 November.
Glory kick-off their 2020/21 A-League campaign against Adelaide United on Saturday, 16 January, and Garcia has been encouraged by his team's continental performances on the road towards the new domestic season.
“I thought we kept controlling them without the ball very well and we've done that in both games,” Perth’s head coach dded.
"We don't have the fitness that they have as we're coming into our season and they're coming off the back of their seasons.”
“We're constantly getting better and more confident within ourselves and in our bodies and are building towards where we want to be.”
Victory beaten on first outing in Qatar
Melbourne Victory returned to competitive action for the first time in more than three months and fell to a 3-1 reverse against Beijng Guoan on Tuesday night.
The Chinese Super League’s third-placed finishers raced to a two-goal lead at half-time following goals from Brazil international Renato Augusto and his compatriot Alan Carvalho.
Wang Ziming’s 74th-minute effort all but wrapped up the result before Victory’s ex-Melbourne City youngster Gianluca Iannucci netted a consolation goal on his senior debut.
Grant Brebner's side have three points from three matches in Group E and Big V next face Beijing in the reverse fixture on Friday, 27 November at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
A-LEAGUE SEASON 2020/21 FIXTURES: Melbourne Victory
A-LEAGUE SEASON 2020/21 FIXTURES: Sydney FC
Joeys keeper Pavlesic to make senior bow
Australia Under-17 goalkeeper Adam Pavlesic will make his Sydney FC debut in the Sky Blues’ clash against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Wednesday night.
The 18-year-old will step in to replace the suspended Tom Heward-Belle, who was sent off in the closing stages of the A-League Champions’ 2-1 defeat against Shanghai SIPG last week.
Pavlesic was the Joeys’ number one during the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2019 in Brazil and the teenager shot-stopper has impressed head coach Steve Corica during team training sessions in Qatar.
“He’s a young boy, pretty inexperienced but he’s got plenty of confidence, so I’m sure he’s going to have a great game with plenty of communication from the back,” Corica said.
“That’s pretty much the only change we’ll make. We’ve had five days in between each game so it gives plenty of time for the boys to recover and get ready for this game.”
The Sky Blues played out a 2-2 with the Korea Republic champions at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium back in March with the return match being hosted at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, which will be the venue for one of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 semi-finals.
LATEST SIGNINGS: All of the players signed for A-League 2020/21 Season
NEW KITS: Every club's released jerseys so far for A-League 2020/21 Season
