Jaiden Kucharski has scored a magical late double as Perth Glory came from behind to snatch an upset 2-1 victory and knock Auckland off top spot in the A-League Men.
Auckland striker Jesse Randall scored a brilliant individual goal in the 42nd minute of Saturday night’s match at Perth’s HBF Park to give the visitors the lead, and Glory looked bereft of answers until Kucharski entered the fray in the 59th minute.
The former Sydney FC striker scored the equaliser in the 75th minute when he controlled Scott Wootton’s long ball with his thigh before dinking the ball over the advancing goalkeeper.
But the 23-year-old Kucharski saved his best for last, unleashing a 24-yard thunderbolt in the 90th minute to seal all three points for Glory.
The result lifted Glory (19 points) into ninth, just two points adrift of sixth spot, but Auckland, who started the round on top of the ladder, have now dropped to third on 25 points.
Auckland also lost New Zealand international Nando Pijnaker to what appeared to be a groin injury in the 27th minute.
And the New Zealand side’s goalkeeper Oliver Sail, who had spent the previous two seasons at Glory, had to be taken off on a stretcher in the 69th minute after injuring his left knee while taking a goal kick.
Sail crumpled to the turf in pain after his knee twisted awkwardly, and the home fans chanted “you fell over” while he received medical treatment.
It marked a sad end to Sail’s first appearance of the season, and it threw Michael Woud, who has been the No.1 goalkeeper at Auckland this campaign, into the thick of the action.
There were very few highlights in the first half, and Auckland only had one wayward shot by the 42nd-minute mark before Randall changed everything with an individual piece of magic.
Randall tapped the ball forward into the box and used a burst of speed to round Will Freney before unleashing a low drive from a tricky angle to beat diving goalkeeper Matt Sutton.
Glory captain Adam Taggart had a great chance to level the scores in the 66th minute, only to send his close-range header at the back post over the bar.
The miss didn’t end up haunting Glory, with Kucharski’s late double sealing the win and sending the home crowd into raptures.