Perth Glory coach David Zdrilic has defended his team’s deep defensive positioning and his tactical moves in the aftermath of their heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Western United.

But amid the gloom of yet another home defeat, Zdrilic lavished teenage debutant Jaylan Pearman with praise, hailing him as the “future of the club” after an eye-catching performance.

It will be little relief to Perth fans though, as the Glory let slip a 2-1 lead heading into injury-time to somehow lose with their first win at HBF Park since February — and a first home victory for Zdrilic — in sight.

Adam Taggart and a Jarrod Carluccio solo effort, either side of Matthew Grimaldi’s equaliser, had put Perth on path for a second win in third games.

But Tate Russell scored in injury-time after some lax marking at the back post, before Glory lost the seemingly un-losable when young Jordan Lauton unleashed a stupendous scissor kick which found the corner of the net with practically the last kick of the game.

With 10 minutes to go, Perth had retreated deeper and deeper and although they had the odd chance in transition, the Glory’s shape arguably invited United forward.

While Perth are not the first team to sit too deep and nor will they be the last, Zdrilic said the state of the game contributed to their positioning.

“It’s also momentum in games, they felt like they needed to come at us, so they kept dribbling at us and risking a little bit,” he said.

“You don’t want to be that deep, but it was just the momentum of the game, they get deeper and deeper and with Hiroshi Ibisuki as well, any high ball in the boxes are more dangerous.

“We were defending quite well in our box in that second half, Oli (Sail) made some saves again, it just didn’t fall our way.

“We need something to fall our way in terms of luck, it didn’t happen tonight, but we’ll keep going.”

Zdrilic said it was an inability to keep the ball, more so than positioning, he felt contributed to United’s late onslaught.

He brought on left-back Anas Hamzaoui to help his side retain possession, but not for the first time this season, the Belgian was caught napping at the back post to allow Russell to score the equaliser.

“The problem for us was we were just not holding the ball, and Anas is very good on the ball and I wanted us to have more moments of possession,” Zdrilic said.

“It’s a psychological thing. It (dropping deeper) happens to nearly every team and I don’t think that was a factor for me.

“We had some players to come on and be able to hold the ball for us, and that’s what we needed.”

On another dark night at HBF Park, a glimmer of light came courtesy of Pearman, the 18 year-old who added some spark in attack and provided an outstanding chipped assist for Taggart’s first-half goal.

“Jaylan is the future of this club,” Zdrilic said.

“He’s been unbelievable in training. He was in the NPL, he’s gained strength, and because he’s gained that strength, I felt comfortable that he was able to come in, and then the players feel comfortable with him.

“He can link up, he’s got good technique, he’s got a great shot.

“I was just really happy he didn’t show any nerves, just went straight into it.”