Brisbane Roar break Perth Glory hearts with late equaliser

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:16 am

Brisbane Roar underlined their reputation as the A-League's comeback kids by denying Perth Glory once again with another late equaliser on Saturday.

Just as they did in the opening round of the season, the Roar broke Glory hearts by salvaging a 1-1 draw -- this time with a powerful header from an unlikely source. Young English defender Macaulay Gillesphey broke his A-League duck by leaping high over the Perth defence from a perfectly-placed Jamie O'Shea corner in the 85th minute at Redcliffe.

"I've been copping a lot of stick [from teammates] but it was coming, that first goal," he said.

Until then, Perth looked to have the match under control in breezy conditions on a spongy Redcliffe pitch despite a spirited second half from the home side. Gillesphey's goal means the sixth-placed Roar (26) have now salvaged 12 points from losing positions this season where they have scored 15 of their 20 goals in the last half hour of each match.

"It's frustrating for us because it seems to be a common theme," said skipper Tom Aldred. "However, the lads bounce back every time, so we have to take the positives of coming back so strong."

Coming off a midweek ACL loss to FC Tokyo, the Glory showed few signs of travel fatigue in extending their A-League unbeaten streak to 10 matches.

Macaulay Gillesphey scored his first A-League to salvage a draw for Brisbane Roar.
Getty

The draw takes Tony Popovic's men to second place on the table with 30 points, passing Melbourne City and Wellington (30) on goal difference. But Popovic will feel they should have cut the gap even further to runaway leaders Sydney FC (40) after dominating the first half and giving the Roar few genuine chances.

It was Glory marksman Bruno Fornaroli who gave Perth the lead by showing his class in the 33rd minute when Diego Castro found him on the edge of the box. Despite being tightly marked, the Uruguayan created space with five touches and two fakes before delivering the blow which took a deflection off Jacob Pepper to leave Jamie Young grasping at thin air. It was his eighth goal in as many matches and his 11th for the season to be third in the Golden Boot standings.

"It was a good goal but we were here to win and it's disappointing," Fornaroli lamented. "The game was here [for the taking]. I don't know what happened."

In his second start for the Roar, Scott McDonald was well contained by the compressed Glory defence while coach Robbie Fowler lamented his side gave the visitors "too much respect" in the first half.