Perth Glory came from behind to beat Adelaide United through two second-half goals after the home side had taken the lead prior the the break.
Recent matches between the two teams had been high scoring affairs, with an incredible 25 goals having been scored in four previous meetings.
Early stages of the proceedings saw a predominantly midfield battle being played out with neither side making a genuinely threatening foray into the opposing defence. But that changed a little when Dane Ingham – playing in an unfamiliar left-back role – took down attacker Ben Halloran in what could have very easily been a penalty. But the visitors got away scot-free on that occasion, as an offside decision overruled any potential possibility of a spot kick.
Ingham was going to have a difficult evening as his defensive error saw Carl Veart’s men go up 1-0 in the 20th minute. The defender lost a headed challenge with Halloran near the halfway line as the wide man darted down the right leaving his marker flat footed. A low cut back to Stefan Mauk saw the skipper with the time and space needed to bury the ball in the back of the net.
A third of the game had gone when Glory midfielder Brandon Wilson played a creatively crafted reverse lob into the path of striker Andy Keogh, who did well to take a shot on target. But unfortunately for the visitors, the veteran hitman did not see a completely unmarked Nicholas D’Agostino on that occasion.
Veart took a leaf out of Richard Garcia’s book and made a first-half substitution before 35 minutes were up, with Yaya Dukuly coming off to be replaced by Al Hassan Toure. The 20-year-old forward received an earful from the Reds’ manager as he made his way back to the bench.
Meanwhile, Perth forward Bruno Fornaroli unleashed a well hit shot from over 30 yards out that went just over the bar. A minute later, Keogh went down due to a groin injury and was replaced by Carlo Armiento.
Adelaide had injury concerns of their own with defender Michael Jakobsen, as he had been hobbling along for about 10 minutes or so before being substituted as George Timotheou came on for what would eventually turn out to be an ill fated evening for him.
With only seconds left in the first period of play, the hosts’ attacker Halloran did very well to get the better of defender Darryl Lachman to go one-on-one with goalkeeper Tando Velaphi. But the left-footed shot went wide of the target as a big opportunity was squandered.
While the Reds had some control during the early stages of the second period with Mohamed Toure making some dazzling runs, the hosts were unable to double the lead in Hindmarsh.
Less than 20 minutes were left when Perth scored the equaliser to make the scoreline read 1-1. Veteran skipper Diego Castro played a beauty of a pass to midfielder Neil Kilkenny, and the former Preston North End man slid it through the middle to Fornaroli. The Uruguayan hitman made no mistake as he got the better of the tussle with defender Yared Abetew to put the ball past goalkeeper James Delianov.
The travellers sensed a turn of the tide as the game went on and were beginning to put the Reds under all kinds of pressure, pinning them in their defensive third for a few minutes. That pressure paid off as it ended up with the goal that would see them take a 2-1 lead. Some excellent work from captain Castro on the left of goal saw the ball fall to youngster Daniel Stynes, who took a shot that took an awkward deflection off Timotheou leaving shot-stopper Delianov with no chance.
With very little time left to go, experienced forward Tomi Juric took a long range shot that rising in flight and eventually went just over the crossbar.
At the end of 90 minutes followed by five minutes of added time, the referee brought the game to a halt and Glory took away all three points.
Adelaide United travel to take on Macarthur FC in Campbelltown next Friday, while Perth return to Western Australia after a gruelling time on the road and go into quarantine.
