A-League 2020: Defensive woes haunt Glory as Reds run riot

Adelaide United kept alive their hopes of playing finals football with an awesome attacking display against Perth Glory.

Adelaide United sent a warning to the rest of the A-League with a devastating attacking display in their 5-3 defeat of Perth Glory at Bankwest Stadium on Thursday night.

Needing wins to keep their finals hopes alive, the Reds ran rampant over Perth, at one stage leading 5-1 before two late goals produced a final scoreline that flattered the disappointing Glory.

The Glory’s poor defensive display raised serious doubts about their ability to mount a genuine challenge for the title.

The Reds are not certain to finish in the top six, however they are unbeaten in three games since the restart of the competition and since the appointment of interim coach Carl Veart.

Regardless of Adelaide’s results in their final two regular season games, as well as the finals if they get that far, Veart is going a long way towards securing the job on a permanent basis.

Veart was full of praise for the manner in which his players had returned from the lengthy season break.

“The boys were lacking a bit of confidence before the break. We were in a bit of a hole and we couldn’t get out of it,” Veart said.

“Since we’ve come back after the COVID break I’ve really emphasised to the players that I want them to enjoy their football.

“I think we saw that tonight. Some of the football they played was great ... and the team spirit has been tremendous.”

Adelaide United goalscorer Pacifique Niyongabire is chased by Perth Glory’s Tarek Elrich in the Reds’ 5-3 win. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

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Adelaide’s exuberance and enthusiasm stunned Perth in a frantic first half that included five goals and a spot kick that was saved.

The Reds had the perfect chance to take the lead in the 14th minute after they were awarded a penalty for a Jacob Tratt foul on Adelaide winger Ben Halloran.

However, Riley McGree's weak effort was comfortably saved by Glory goalkeeper Liam Reddy.

But the Reds didn’t drop their heads, taking the lead in the 27th minute through captain Michael Jakobsen, who headed home a corner from young gun Taras Gomulka.

Two minutes later the Reds doubled their lead after a sloppy Tratt pass was pounced on by Adelaide striker Kristian Opseth.

The Norwegian attacker fed teenager Lachlan Brook, who shot past an exposed Reddy to score his first A-League goal.

The Glory thought they had got themselves back into the contest in the 33rd minute when Kristian Popovic beat the off-side trap to cut Adelaide's lead in half.

But Perth’s joy was short-lived, with Adelaide responding with two more goals before-half time.

Opseth netted his third goal in three games in the 38th minute, taking advantage of a sloppy punch and then a slip from custodian Reddy to head the ball home.

The Glory’s nightmare continued on the stroke of the break when a Halloran shot took a wicked deflection off Perth’s former Adelaide defender Osama Malik on its way past Reddy to further increase the Reds’ lead.

If the game wasn’t already over, it was 18 minutes into the second half when substitute Pacifique Niyongabire scored Adelaide’s fifth goal.

The Glory grabbed two late consolation goals through striker Bruno Fornaroli and midfielder Juande, who scored from the penalty, but it counted for nothing as Perth slumped to successive defeats.

Glory coach Tony Popovic was disappointed with his side’s defensive display.

“We were very vulnerable defensively throughout that whole first half and I felt throughout the whole game,” Popovic said.

“They (Adelaide) had four attempts and scored four goals (in the first half), so when that happens it’s very hard to come back.

“We got punished for mistakes and we gave away two goals from two corners, so it wasn’t defensively a good night and our opponent punished us for the gifts that we gave them tonight.”