Perth Glory has moved back to top of the A-League after sharing the points with Adelaide United in an entertaining 1-1 draw at Hindmarsh Stadium.
The Glory leapfrogged Melbourne Victory and now sit a point clear of their closest rivals following a stunning equaliser from Nebojsa Marinkovic eight minutes into the second half on Sunday.
The result also gave the Reds third place outright, a point ahead of Wellington Phoenix.
United opened the match the better of the two sides, taking a deserved lead on 11 minutes through Pablo Sanchez.
Tarek Elrich split the Perth defence and threaded a neat pass for Sanchez, who side-stepped his opponent and superbly dinked the ball over Danny Vukovic in the Glory goal.
The Reds could have added a second when Osama Malik rose highest to meet Marcelo Carrusca’s free kick, but the defender’s header was directed straight at Vukovic.
Two minutes later, Sergio Cirio squandered another golden opportunity to extend United’s lead, scuffing his shot from just five metres and missing the vacant net after some great build up play and cross from Michael Marrone.
The visitors stepped up the pace in the second half and United appeared to be feeling the pressure before the Glory eventually drew level in the 53rd minute.
Marinkovic collected the ball on the edge of the area and picked out the top corner of Eugene Galekovic’s goal with a stunning 20-metre curling effort that left the Reds keeper no chance.
Perth continued to apply the heat before United had two chances in quick succession.
Substitute Awer Mabil stung the palms of Vukovic from just outside the area following a swift counter attack before Carrusca attempted an audacious first-time chip that the Glory keeper expertly tipped over the bar.
United had a shout for a penalty in the 84th minute when Craig Goodwin whipped in a cross for Bruce Djite, only for the striker to seemingly be brought down as he charged into the box. He recovered to see his close-range shot denied again by Vukovic.
Round 17 final results:
Central Coast Mariners 0-2 Brisbane Roar
Wellington Phoenix 0-0 Melbourne City
Newcastle Jets 1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
Sydney FC 3-3 Melbourne Victory
Adelaide United 1-1 Perth Glory
Source: AAP