Perth Glory capitalised on a rare goalkeeping howler from Central Coast’s Mathew Ryan to post a 1-0 A-League triumph on Sunday.
Ryan, playing his 50th game for the Mariners, was looking for a hole to hide in after allowing Todd Howarth’s deflected cross to slip through his outstretched gloves.
Glory midfielder Travis Dodd pounced on the fumble to net the easiest of goals in the 25th minute, the win catapulting Perth above Wellington into third spot on the table on goal difference.
But in a major blow for Perth, skipper Jacob Burns suffered a suspected cracked rib early in the second half after copping an accidental elbow from Josh Rose.
Central Coast, with just one win from their past seven A-League outings, are now just two points clear of second-placed Brisbane.
The Mariners encountered freezing conditions during the week in their scoreless Asian Champions League draw against Tianjin Teda in China.
And with Perth sweltering through a 41C day, Mariners coach Graham Arnold unsuccessfully lobbied the A-League to have the match moved back by at least half an hour.
The mercury was still hovering above 36C at the 4.30pm kick-off, with players from both teams afforded the luxury of a two-minute drinks break midway through each half.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between in the opening 45 minutes, Ryan’s error the glaring exception.
Ryan had the sun in his eyes when he charged off his line to intercept Howarth’s cross, with the ball slipping through his outstretched gloves and falling into Dodd’s path.
Burns was stretchered off early in the second half with the suspected cracked rib, and the Mariners suffered a blow of their own when striker Bernie Ibini limped off shortly after with a knee complaint.
Ryan made a series of sharp saves in the second half, Glory substitute Andrezinho testing him on several occasions.
The Mariners barely fired a shot for the first 75 minutes but exploded to life in the last 15 in a desperate search for an equaliser.
Striker Daniel McBreen came the closest in the 84th minute, only for Glory defender Josh Risdon to clear the goalward-bound header off the line.
Glory coach Ian Ferguson confirmed Burns had been sent off to hospital for scans on his rib.
“It doesn’t look good at this point in time. We think it’s a cracked rib,” Ferguson told Fox Sports.
Mariners coach Graham Arnold felt the heat could have contributed to the incident which led to Burns’s injury.
“I believe there were two terrible injuries in the Brisbane game as well. That can come down to the conditions and players’ reflexes aren’t the same,” Arnold told Fox Sports.
“They can’t get out of the way of collisions and everyone gets frustrated.
“Josh Rose isn’t that type of player and can be a little bit clumsy.
“Conditions here today were horrendous and I can’t be more proud of the way my boys fought.
“We had 44 hours of travelling this week, an ACL game in cold conditions.
“You just would have hoped there would be more sense to it, that’s all.”
