Perth coach David Mitchell couldn’t hide his disappointment after the Glory conceded a last-second equaliser in the club’s nail-biting 3-3 draw with Newcastle on Friday night.
Perth coach David Mitchell couldn’t hide his disappointment after the Glory conceded a last-second equaliser in the club’s nail-biting 3-3 draw with Newcastle on Friday night.
The Perth side came from behind twice, taking the lead through Nikita Rukavytsya’s running strike during the 81st minute, only to see Jets skipper Jade North sweep onto a long ball forward and slot the equaliser during the fifth minute of added time.
It was a cruel blow for Mitchell’s side, as it dominated possession for long periods during a thrilling second half that saw four goals scored, with the coach saying the players had taken it hard.
“Gutted, you know,” said Mitchell after the game. “It feels like a loss but we picked up a point and it should have been three, no denying that fact and I think Newcastle will find themselves very lucky today.”
After an even start to the contest, the Glory fell behind to a Joel Griffiths penalty in the 19th minute before drawing level through a penalty of their own, won and converted by Argentinean import Adrian Trinidad, in his first game for the club.
Some sloppy defending after the break allowed the Jets to re-take the lead via Jin-Hyung Song’s deflected strike before the Glory drew level once more, through a spectacular headed goal from Ivory Coast-born striker Eugene Dadi.
But, despite leading the game until the fifth minute of injury time after Rukavytsya’s goal, the Glory could not hold on for their first win of a season in which they have high hopes of making the Hyundai A-League finals for the first time.
“Last year, it was all playing catch up and that’s why it was important for us today for the club and for the supporters, that we won today, to get off the bottom of the table, get away from the bottom of the table scenario,” said Mitchell.
“And, I think we were certainly robbed today and that’s what’s so disappointing. We’ve got to pick ourselves up. The season’s yet young and we’ve got to give out a big fight and a big challenge for that top four spot where the club wants to be.”
But one gleaming positive from the night was the club’s spectacular second goal, a towering header from Dadi over two defenders after he was picked out in the box by a superb volleyed cross from Brazilian midfielder Amaral.
“It was one touch football, it was free flowing and it was exciting,” Mitchell said.
“It was a great finish, I think you’d see that in the (English) Premier League. Tonight, people talk about the A-League (for) it was great, a great advert for the A-League tonight and hopefully the fans saw that tonight and hopefully we’ll improve on that.”
