Western United youngster Jordan Lauton seized the headlines with a stunning 95th-minute bicycle kick to hand his side a 3-2 Isuzu UTE A-League Men win over Perth Glory on Friday night.
The 21-year-old had only come on as a substitute 10 minutes prior and added his entry into the volumes of great A-Leagues goals before drawing a second yellow card and being sent off after removing his shirt in celebration.
That winner was made possible by Tate Russell’s equaliser in the second minute of stoppage, the right-back scoring his first Western United goal.
Matthew Grimaldi scored his second goal in three matches in the first half as John Aloisi’s men created a host of chances and were eventually rewarded with one of the most remarkable late comebacks in A-Leagues history.
United moved level on points with second place after a fourth straight win, equalling a Club record ahead of a huge week of derbies against rivals Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory.
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Aloisi made three changes to the starting XI, two of them forced with Abel Walatee and Charbel Shamoon missing out due to knee and ankle injuries respectively.
The welcome news was that captain Ben Garuccio returned to the starting line-up, while Ramy Najjarine made his first start in over a year and Grimaldi was also restored to the XI as Hiroshi Ibusuki began the game on the bench.
First Half
Buoyed by a three-game winning run, Western United started the game confidently and had a big opening within minutes as Oliver Sail thwarted Noah Botic twice in quick succession.
Matt Sutton needed to make a good save of his own to deny Jaylan Pearman from long range before Sail was at it again, denying Grimaldi as he streamed through into a one-on-one opportunity.
Riku Danzaki got himself in behind soon after but Perth were again able to breathe a sigh of relief before punishing United at the other end as Adam Taggart finished at the near post.
The visitors weren’t to be behind for long, though, as Grimaldi made good on his earlier missed chance to finish off a lovely move.
Going from back to front and right to left, United worked the ball to Angus Thurgate in the box who controlled a clipped a ball into the centre of the box for Grimaldi to volley home.
The young gun’s seventh goal in the Isuzu UTE A-League had the Green and Black level at the break, with the drama only just getting started.
Second Half
Ibusuki came off the bench at half-time to add another dimension to Western’s attack, though chances were getting harder to come by with Perth tightening up after the first-half flurry.
It was then the Glory that took advantage of a couple of minutes of dominance, starting with a Taggart shot that was deflected wide for a corner which Adriano Lebib had a big chance from himself.
The home support spurred their side on and Jarrod Carluccio scored a wonderful solo goal, entering the box from the left-wing and fitting the ball into the roof of the net from an improbable angle.
Sail continued to shine in goal for Perth and when he pulled off an excellent save to keep out Ibusuki’s header in the final 20 minutes, it seemed as though it might be ‘one of those days’ for Western United.
That was until a pair of substitutions six minutes apart tipped the game on its head as Aloisi found some inspired changes.
The first of those changes was Luke Vickery who got at the Perth defence at every possible opportunity, looking to make something happen every time he touched the ball.
In his first appearance of the season, the 19-year-old made his impact count with a delightful cross that found its way to Russell at the back post. The right-back still had plenty to do and did it expertly, controlling and finishing in the face of pressure from Sail to haul United level.
And it wasn’t done there. Just six minutes after Vickery entered the fray, Lauton leapt off the bench and put in one of the most incredible substitute cameos you are likely to see.
Buzzing about the pitch both with and without the ball, Lauton had the foresight to get himself in the box as Thurgate shaped to cross for what was sure to be the last chance of the game.
With the cross slightly behind him, Lauton sprung into the air and caught the ball ever so sweetly with a right-footed bicycle kick that flew into the net and sparked a stacks-on celebration from the Western United players.
Once the celebrations had died down, Lauton left the pitch with jersey in hand after his red card but his work was done, clinching a win that will certainly go down in Western United history.
