Adelaide's La Rocca says sorry to Keogh

Nov 21, 2016 - 4:51 AM Perth Glory striker Andy Keogh says he's accepted Iacopo La Rocca's apology for elbowing him, but he hasn't ruled out the prospect of revenge.

Keogh was left fuming after copping a swinging elbow to the face from Adelaide hardman La Rocca as the Italian backed into him during the dying stages of Glory's 3-1 win over Adelaide.

The blow left Keogh with a cut and bloodied lip, and Glory coach Kenny Lowe later described the hit as "naughty".

Keogh also felt there was some malice in the elbow at the time, and he angrily let La Rocca know about it.

The 30-year-old softened his stance somewhat on Monday, saying: "Yeah he said sorry (after the match). I said no problem. What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch."

But it was hard to tell whether Keogh was joking or not when he talked about the prospect of settling the score with La Rocca in the future.

"He got me a good one. I'll get him back," Keogh said.

"It's football. If he didn't mean to, he didn't mean to. I don't know. I'll let someone else make that decision. It's a physical game, you're going to get cuts and bruises."

La Rocca was banned for Western Sydney's finals campaign in 2013 after being found guilty of elbowing Sydney's Terry Antonis in the face.

He also copped a three-match ban earlier this year for elbowing Matt Simon.

Glory's win lifted them into fourth spot on the table ahead of Thursday night's away clash with struggling Central Coast.

The Mariners came from three goals down to pinch a 3-3 draw against Glory in round one, and Perth are desperate to make amends for that slip-up.

Keogh scored two goals against Adelaide last week.

The first came in controversial fashion when Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic was bundled over by Rostyn Griffiths as the Glory skipper attempted to head the ball.

Galekovic had both hands to the ball at the time.

Adelaide coach Guillermo Amor was so angry with the decision to let play continue, he ended up getting sent to the stands for arguing his point to the referees.

He was also charged with violent conduct for touching a fourth official to get his attention.

"There's no written rule that goalkeepers need all this protection," Keogh said of the goal.

"If he's going to come outside the six-yard box to try to claim a ball, he's got to make sure he claims it.

"It was a fair challenge in my eyes. I'm an attacking player, so I would say that. A defensive player would say the opposite."

Source: AAP