In what was arguably the A-League Men’s game of the season, Perth and Adelaide drew 4-4 at HBF Park, effectively ending Glory’s Finals hopes.
Glory took the lead in the 32nd thanks to Ryan Williams; however, just moments later seventeen-year-old Luka Jovanovic smashed home an equalizer. Craig Goodwin scored his eleventh goal of the season in the 51st minute, but Adam Taggart’s header ten minutes later drew the scores level.
Ryan Kitto scored the contest’s next goal in the 78th minute. But three late goals from Adam Zimarino, Adam Taggart once more, and substitute Nestroy Irankunda meant that both teams only came away with a point.
As a result, Perth must beat Western United next week and hope that Wellington loses to last-place Macarthur in order to secure a Finals spot.
Carl Veart’s team dominated the first twenty minutes, and early strikes from Ben Halloran and Jovanovic could have put them ahead if Cameron Cook hadn’t made some excellent saves.
Despite the early pressure, Ryan Williams scored the first goal of the game. Luke Bodnar’s long pass put the forward one-on-one with Joe Gauci, whom he chipped the ball over.
Two minutes later, however, the away team equalised. Youngster Luka Jovanovic slammed home his third goal of the season into a vacated net following a Craig Goodwin cross that caused chaos in the Glory box.
The visitors wasted no time in taking the lead during the second half, with Goodwin scoring from point-blank range after a wicked deflection off of Jack Clisby caused the ball to hover on the goal line.
In desperate need of a goal, it was Adam Taggart who lifted the Glory spirits, as he jumped highest and equalised the scores on the hour mark via a thumping header.
But both teams weren’t going to settle, as the introduction of Nestroy Irankunda and attacking wingbacks Trent Ostler and Jacob Dowse showed.
The Reds’ quality was too good for Perth, and chances started to arise until finally, for the second time in the game, the ball deflected off the inside of the post and found its way to Ryan Kitto, who made no mistake in converting from a near-unmissable position.
Yet still, Perth didn’t give up, and the man in purple, who’s in a purple patch of form, Adam Zimarino, scored his second ever A-League goal in the 93rd minute to tie things up once more. Moments later, the drama continued, and unbelievably, Adam Taggart put Glory into the lead with a vicious strike from distance, sending players and fans into an uproar. Simply incredible.
As this thrilling game appeared to be drawing to a conclusion, one final twist in the tale was to be made when Nestroy Irankunda rifled home an unstoppable shot at the last moment to tie the scores 4-4.
Final Score
Perth Glory 4 (Williams 32′, Taggart 60′, 90+6′, Zimarino 90+3′)
Adelaide United 4 (Jovanovic 34′, Goodwin 51′, Kitto 78′, Irankunda 90+8′)
