PERTH Glory will hope to stretch its unbeaten run to six games when it hosts bottom-two side Melbourne Victory in W-League action this Sunday.
Glory kept its loss-free run going after holding the visiting Newcastle Jets to a 1-1 draw at Dorrien Gardens on Monday.
A brilliant solo effort from Perth skipper Samantha Kerr in the 69th minute cancelled out an earlier goal from Jets attacker Jenna Kingsley just after half-time.
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Kerr was brought down by Jets defender Grace Macintyre in the penalty area in the 36th minute and DiBernardo stepped up to take the spot-kick. Unfortunately for the home side, Jets goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland picked DiBernado’s kick and comfortably collected the ball.
After scoring, Newcastle continued to trouble the Glory defence, with Megan Oyster heading the ball into the headframe from a corner and Rhali Dobson also finding the woodwork from the follow-up attempt.
Kerr then took on three Jets defenders at the top of the box before carefully chipping the ball over Rowland’s head and registering her eighth goal of the season.
Kerr said the team was disappointed its winning streak had come to an end, but was relieved Glory had taken a point from the contest.
“We’ve taken pride in our performances over the last couple of weeks and it was disappointing to let that one go, but tomorrow’s a new day and we’ll look to Melbourne Victory on Sunday,” she said.
“To be honest, I can’t put my finger on it. I felt I was a bit off too. The whole team looked to pass behind and step behind a lot.
“I don’t know if that’s because of a quick succession of games or the mentality wasn’t right, but we’ll talk about it over the week and hopefully fix that for the Victory game.”
The Glory-Victory clash starts at 4pm at Dorrien Gardens.