Perth Glory have completed a brilliant comeback to take all three points against Adelaide United in their Round 19 clash tonight. The Glory, led by skipper Jacob Burns with two goals, found themselves down 2-0 in the 53rd minute but rallied to record an inspiring 3-2 win.
Adelaide United: 2 (Lucas Pantelis '13, Travis Dodd '53) Perth Glory: 3 (Jacob Burns '62, '69, Daniel McBreen '77) Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium Crowd: 8,904
The home side started with clear intent to go on the attack and they got their reward when Lucas Pantelis attempted a cross from the left flank which, fortunately for the Reds, floated in past Glory keeper Tando Velaphi and found the back post before bouncing into the back of the net. It was the piece of luck Adelaide needed to get their season back on track and they continued to push forward in a bid to go two ahead.
The Glory did manage to find their momentum and settled into a rhythm, going close on a few occasions in an electric 45 minutes, but the first half did end 1-0 to Adelaide, placing them in a strong position to record a much-needed three points.
Minutes after the re-start, the visitors were centimetres away from netting an equaliser when Todd Howarth struck the ball in the area after a corner fell to him but Reds defender Mark Rudan was right on the goal line to save the day for his side.
In the 53rd minute, Adelaide got their second goal when skipper Travis Dodd pounced on a Jamie Coyne error in the back half and tucked it past Velaphi for this third goal in three matches - a goal which wounded the Glory who had seemingly got themselves back into the contest.
Adelaide were intent on holding onto their lead and were able to keep out some swift counter-attacks from Perth who had 11 corners before the hour-mark and they got another big chance to get one back when Iain Fyfe was sent from the pitch for a challenge on Glory striker Mile Sterjovski just outside the area. The ensuing free-kick was well-placed into the back of the net by captain Jacob Burns who finally scored his first goal for the club and got the right back in the contest, with an extra man on the park.
Then minutes later, Burns got his second to tie the match up with a neat finish from just inside the area after the Reds allowed his run from midfield to go unchallenged. The sending off of Fyfe was proving to be costly for the Reds who were in cruise control earlier in the second half and if it wasn't for Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic, the match could have been sewn up by the visitors.
In the 77th minute, the Glory completed a remarkable comeback when former North Queensland Fury striker Daniel McBreen scored his first goal for his new club with a hopeful hook around Rudan that trickled past Galekovic and put the visitors ahead, stunning the Hindmarsh Stadium crowd.
Perth were able to hold out any Adelaide hopes of a leveller and managed to atone for their dismal 6-2 loss to the Melbourne Victory on Saturday to go four points clear in sixth place on the table whilst the Reds were left to lick their wounds as they remain at the foot of the ten teams.
