A relieved Kenny Lowe concedes Perth Glory “sneaked” their Westfield FFA Cup Round of 16 win over Lions FC but hailed his side’s character for playing the majority of the match with 10 men.
Glory survived a massive Cup upset with Chris Harold’s 116th minute goal handing them a 1-0 win over the third-tier Brisbane Premier League club.
Goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson was sent off after just six minutes for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, with young gloveman Nicholas Feely pulling off some crucial saves to keep the Lions out.
“Obviously a man down for 120 minutes is not the best but it showed some true character from our lads,” Lowe told Fox Sports.
“They [Lions FC] had some good chances, we had a few good chances as well.
“But we sneaked it at the death and it was probably heartbreak for them. I had a look around and there was a few people on the floor. They were superb I thought the Lions.”
FFA Cup wrap: Adelaide, Heidelberg progress
While the home side pushed the Hyundai A-League outfit all the way, Glory showed tremendous resilience to avoid an embarrassing exit.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Glory still dominated possession and created a number of great scoring chances to win the match in normal time.
Lowe believes it’s the type of win that can build something special at the club.
“It shows we’ve got good people,” he said.
“They hung in there and worked ever so hard. We weren’t particularly good but being down to 10 men for that long you saw the energy draining out of us.
“We hung in there…the players are pleased and it’s a good character performance.
“If we can sneak in another two games we’re in the final.”
