Perth Glory head coach Alex Epakis described some of the refereeing decisions as comical and borderline unfair after winless Canberra United scored two late goals to force a thrilling 3-3 Liberty A-League draw.
Canberra opened the scoring at Viking Park on Saturday, but Perth equalised just before half-time and scored twice after the break to take a 3-1 lead.
Hosts Canberra pulled a goal back in the 79th minute when American Chelsee Washington rose above two Perth defenders at the far post and powered a header into the net for her first A-League Women goal.
Canberra pulled level five minutes later when another maiden goalscorer, Lauren Keir, tapped in from close range after Allyson Haran headed the ball goalwards.
Both teams had chances to win, with 17-year-old Canberra substitute goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln whipping the ball off the boot off Aideen Keane just before the end.
Canberra picked up their fourth point of the campaign, but their club-record winless streak stretching back to last season increased to 10.
Glory were left still looking for their first win in Canberra, who had won 10 and drawn three of their 13 previous encounters.
They stay fifth and level on points with Melbourne Victory, who are above them on goal difference and have two games in hand.
The pitchside microphone picked up Epakis’s displeasure with some of referee Isabella Blaess’s decisions, including a contentious early penalty to Canberra.
“I think they were comical,” Epakis said. “I think the decisions were borderline unfair, I’m not saying they were, but they were borderline.
“I think some off the decisions really assisted the other team getting back into the game.
“We didn’t lose because of the ref, but we didn’t win because of the referee and ultimately there needs to be some level of accountability or some type of investigation to ensure the quality is maintained with the referees.”
Canberra’s Grace Maher opened the scoring with a sixth-minute penalty after Perth captain Natasha Rigby was deemed to have fouled Allira Toby inside the box.
The game tilted towards Perth late in the first half after Canberra goalkeeper Keeley Richards hurt her left knee.
Almost immediately after getting treatment, she was beaten by a strong Cyera Hintzen shot.
Richards made two more saves but wasn’t replaced until the 73rd minute.
Canberra had the first five scoring opportunities of the second half but were punished for poor shooting, as Perth found the net in the 64th and 70th minutes.
Canberra failed to clear a corner and Liz Anton steered home after a goalmouth scramble.
American Hintzen capitalised on poor defending to score her second and was substituted within three minutes, with Epakis saying it was a loading decision after coming back from a recent injury.
