Perth Glory rising star Jaylan Pearman scored a clinical second-half brace to inspire his side to a 4-1 win over top-six hopefuls Adelaide United on Saturday night.
The Reds travelled to HBF Park intent on claiming three points against the league’s bottom-placed side to jump back into the top six but were stunned by an early Glory blitz, with Adam Taggart and Trent Ostler both scoring inside 20 minutes to put the hosts in a commanding lead.
Ben Folami cut the margin back to just one goal in the first half but were overrun by the hosts after the break as 18-year-old Pearman scored the second and third goals of his Isuzu UTE A-League career to blow the margin out to 4-1.
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For Adelaide, Saturday’s heavy loss was a significant blow in their pursuit of a place in the 2024-25 Finals Series.
The Reds dropped out of the top six in Round 25 after a defeat to Sydney FC but, following Sydney’s 2-2 draw with Auckland in the earlier kick-off on Saturday, had the chance to reclaim their place in the post-season standings with a win over a Glory outfit with just two victories to their name heading into the weekend.
But Glory had other ideas in their final home game of the regular season, as a convincing 4-1 win in their best performance of the campaign helped David Zdrilic’s side off the foot of the table and three points clear of Brisbane Roar.
The hosts took a surprise lead against finals hopefuls Adelaide when Adam Taggart turned in a low Nikola Mileusnic cross with an inventive flicked finish past Reds keeper Max Vartuli in the 11th minute.
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Taggart’s eighth goal of the season inspired a rampant start from Perth, who raced out to a two-goal lead before the 20-minute mark.
Once again, Glory found joy attacking down the right wing as Mileusnic picked out Jaylan Pearman on the edge of the box, who in turn found Trent Ostler for a heavily-deflected finish into the bottom-right corner.
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Adelaide travelled to Perth intent on claiming three points against the league’s bottom side and with a place in the top six up for grabs, an early two-goal deficit was a nightmare scenario for the Reds.
But in an all-action start to the contest at HBF Park, Adelaide found a swift response to halve the deficit through Ben Folami, who capitalised on a loose pass in defence from Glory captain Josh Risdon to finish past Oli Sail.
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After a breathless start to the game at HBF Park, the score remained at 2-1 up until the 73rd minute as Glory clung on precariously to their one-goal lead.
But then came the moment for Pearman to put his name up in lights.
The 18-year-old Glory product restored his side’s two-goal lead in the 73rd minute with his first goal of the night, latching onto a floated through ball from Nicholas Pennington, squaring up his defender Jordan Elsey and burying the ball past Vartuli.
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Seven minutes later, Pearman secured his brace with a near-identical finish into the bottom-right corner. The teenager wheeled away in celebration in front of The Shed as the celebrations began in the stands.
After a trying season for the club, Saturday night’s 4-1 win – Perth’s second home win of the season – ensured the home fans received a fitting farewell from their 2024-25 squad ahead of two away games against Auckland and Wellington to finish the season.
