Football: Phoenix beaten by ten-man Glory

Rising star Danny De Silva scored his first A-League goal and Andy Keogh continued his hot form to inspire 10-man Perth Glory to a 2-1 triumph over Wellington Phoenix at nib Stadium.

Glory were cruising towards victory after De Silva's second-minute strike and Keogh's 60th-minute goal put them 2-0 up in front of 9233 fans.

But the game roared back to life in the 63rd minute when Glory substitute Ruben Zadkovich, who had been on the pitch for just 17 seconds, was shown a straight red for a hard tackle on Vince Lia.

Wellington pegged a goal back in the 85th minute via a Roy Krishna penalty, but the visitors missed out on an equaliser when Nathan Burns' strike in the 94th minute slid just wide.

Perth's sixth win from seven games this season kept them at the top of the table ahead of next Saturday's showdown with Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium.

Phoenix entered Friday's clash without star midfielder Michael McGlinchey, who flew back to New Zealand to be present for the birth of his daughter Annabel.

Glory made a dream start to the match when 17-year-old whiz kid De Silva scored after just 88 seconds.

Winger Youssouf Hersi set up the goal by cleverly skipping past Thomas Doyle and squaring a pass into the box, with De Silva chesting the bobbling ball home.

It was de Silva's second goal for the club after he also scored in the FFA Cup quarter-final win over Melbourne Victory.

The remainder of the half featured few clear-cut chances, with Hersi having a chuckle at himself after fluffing a running shot on goal in the 41st minute.

Keogh scored his fifth goal of the season when he stuck out his left boot to send Josh Risdon's pin-point cross into the back of the net.

But the Phoenix were back in the contest when Zadkovich's clumsy tackle on Lia earned him a red card.

Phoenix substitute Tyler Boyd earned his side a hat-trick when he clashed legs with Risdon, and Krishna made no mistake from the spot.

But Perth were able to hold on in the dying minutes to secure the win.

Glory coach Kenny Lowe praised the character of his side, but said he wasn't sure if Zadkovich deserved a straight red card.

"I'm 45, 50 metres away, so I'll say it definitely wasn't a red, as any coach would," Lowe said.

"I haven't got a clue. Ruben doesn't go in with a feather duster. I think he took some of the ball. Maybe he took some of the guy. I don't know - I'll have to have a look.

"He's made a tackle, and the ref might have made a mistake. Nothing to speak about."

Wellington coach Ernie Merrick rued his side's poor start.

"To concede a goal within two minutes was very tough. So we were chasing the game right from the very start," Merrick said.

"Their finishing was good. Their lead-up play was good. I don't think our passing was good in the front third."

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