Perth pinch a point off Macarthur in Campbelltown after Kurto error

A late goalkeeping error from Filip Kurto has seen Perth draw 2-2 with Macarthur at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.

Kurto charged out of his area to try and clear a late Perth long ball with his head but succeeded only in taking out both himself and Jaiden Kucharski, allowing Stefan Colakovski to stroll in and score a stoppage time equaliser.

A draw looked an unlikely result as the game rolled towards stoppage time, with Callum Talbot’s first Isuzu UTE A-League goal in the 72nd minute looking like it had sealed the points for Macarthur.

Talbot also assisted the typically industrious Mitch Duke in the Bulls’ first goal, which had cancelled out Nicholas Pennington’s first half opener for Perth Glory.

But as the clock ticked into the last second of the 90, Kurto’s mistake meant that Colakovski could steal in for his first Isuzu UTE A-League goal in over a year and take a point back to Perth.

Earlier, Pennington’s opener had come in the 36th minute when Damien de Silva’s attempted clearing header fell to Giovanni de Abreau, who knocked the ball back in to the Macarthur area.

Pennington chested the ball down, turned and cracked a snapshot toward goal which Bulls keeper Filip Kurto couldn’t stop despite getting both hands to it.

Shortly after the opener Mitch Duke fired a warning shot across the bows of the Glory, his skimmed header just flashing wide from a quality Talbot ball.

Anthony Caceres then had Macarthur’s best chance of the first half, forcing Perth keeper Matt Sutton to save from the edge of the area after holding off three Glory defenders.

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Duke – who engaged in an absorbing battle with Brian Kaltak across the night – always felt the most likely goalscorer for the Bulls, and so it proved in the 60th minute when he forced Macarthur level.

The ever enterprising Luke Vickery kept the ball alive after a set piece went slightly too deep, then moved the ball along to Talbot whose driven ball to the back post was met by a stooping Duke for a trademark headed goal.

The goal was Duke’s last involvement in the match however, with the Socceroo being substituted for Harry Sawyer straight afterwards and later seen icing his groin area.

Macarthur had upped their intensity in the second half and were rewarded for their effort in the 71st minute when Talbot’s first ever Isuzu UTE A-League goal gave them the lead.

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Dean Bosnjak shuffled the ball to Talbot on the right side hand side of the box and he bought himself some space with some twinkle toed footwork in front of Trent Ostler before aiming a curling effort at the far post.

Glory defender Scott Wootton got the last touch on the ball before it the net, which may have slightly thrown off Sutton but won’t be enough to take Talbot’s long awaited debut goal off him.

Perth had an injury issue of their own between the goals, with Welsh talisman Tom Lawrence limping off.

Macarthur had grown into their dominance in the second half and came within the width of Sutton’s right hand post of going 3-1 up twice when first Chris Ikonomidis and secondly Vickery hit the post.

Their inability to finish the Glory bit them hard when Kurto’s mistake let in Colakovski to rescue a point from the brink.

Macarthur now have a week off to put themselves together before playing Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium on February 22.