Bottom-placed Perth Glory caused the A-League boilover of the season with a 2-0 win over defending champions and top-of-the-table Melbourne City in their final game of the year at HBF Park.

The Glory youngsters battled hard and showed plenty of character on Wednesday night to end the club’s 25th anniversary on a high.

It was their first win in 17 games, just their fourth in the COVID and injury-ravaged campaign.

City needed a win to secure the Premiers Plate with one game remaining but Glory had obviously not read the script.

Glory were dominated but their defence stood solid and at the centre of the remarkable result was towering defender Darryl Lachman, surely destined for the Most Glorious Player award, after playing every game this season.

A double from Callum Timmins, one in each half, stunned City.

He curled home a sensational strike from outside the box after just five minutes that gave goalkeeper Tom Glover no chance and Glover could only watch after fumbling a long-range effort from the 22-year-old an hour later.

City’s frustration came to the surface in time added-on when defender Curtis Good was sent off for his second yellow card.

Glory coach Ruben Zadkovich, in his first win in 10 games since taking over from Richard Garcia, left Daniel Sturridge on the bench.

He brought midfielders Osama Malik, in possibly his last Glory game, and Giordano Colli, 22, into the starting line-up and Adam Zimarino, 20, onto the bench.

Glory’s cause was not helped when Mitch Oxborrow, one of their few experienced players, came off with a calf strain after 30 minutes.

City, coming off an Asian Champions League campaign with six games in 15 days almost went ahead in the first couple of minutes when Jamie Maclaren forced Liam Reddy into a save and Andrew Nabbout fired high.

Against all odds, Glory took the lead when Timmins curled home a terrific effort after good work from Antonee Burke-Gilroy.

The goal put Glory ahead for just the sixth time this season.

It was one of the few times they got close to the opposition box in the first half although Burke-Gilroy should have doubled the lead, shooting straight at Glover.

City launched wave after wave of attack testing Glory’s young defenders.

Marco Tilio, Matthew Leckie, Maclaren and Rostyn Griffiths all went wide before Reddy produced one of the saves of the season from a Griffiths header.

It was the same story after the break as the siege continued, Leckie hit the crossbar, headed wide and fired straight at Reddy while Maclaren’s header was off-target — but Timmins was on target.