- Dylan McGowan - 23'
- Diego Castro - 45'+1' Pen
Diego Castro penalty earns Perth controversial draw against Adelaide
Diego Castro has kept his Perth Glory's top-four ambitions in the A League alive with a controversial penalty in a 1-1 draw away to Adelaide United.
Castro scored after earning a spot-kick in an act which riled Adelaide and their home crowd at Coopers Stadium on Friday night.
Perth remain fifth, three points behind fourth-placed Brisbane and third-placed Melbourne City ahead of the weekend fixtures.
After United's Dylan McGowan headed the home side into the lead, Castro equalised having gone down as a result of slight contact from the Reds defender.
Ironically, Adelaide next week play in the first game in a major league worldwide to feature video refereeing reviews.
But the trial comes a week late for the Reds, who would have had grounds for the Castro decision to be overturned had the option been available.
Adelaide's McGowan scored in the 23rd minute, nodding home from within a metre after teammate Taylor Regan's header struck the far post and fell kindly for him.
But the tide turned just before half-time when Castro was awarded and scored a controversial penalty.
He cut through Adelaide's defence with a slicing run and, near the byline, felt contact on the front of a leg from McGowan.
After a slight pause, Castro sank to his knees and dived forward in what replays showed was a simulated act.
Referee Daniel Elder, who took control of the match at the last minute when scheduled ref Alan Milliner suffered a hamstring injury in the warm-up, awarded a penalty which Castro duly converted in the 46th minute.
The Spaniard was thereafter the target of vitriol from Adelaide's crowd, which roundly booed whenever he touched the ball.
But both sides were unable to land a decisive blow in a heated second half, the draw leaving Adelaide ninth on the ladder with two games until the finals.
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