Brace ... Jeronimo celebrates after scoring. Source: News Limited
Adelaide United import Jeronimo Neumann made the most of a sudden call-up to score twice in a 3-2 victory against Perth Glory at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Neumann came from the bench when Adelaide frontman Bruce Djite limped off after injuring a groin muscle just 80 seconds into the Hindmarsh Stadium fixture.
The second-placed Reds kept pressure on league leaders Central Coast with a win also featuring a stunning Iain Ramsay goal, before two Glory goals in the final four minutes gave Adelaide a fright.
Adelaide trail the Mariners by one point ahead of the pacesetter's away fixture against Melbourne Victory on Saturday.
P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Central Coast | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 33 |
2 | Adelaide | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 32 |
3 | Victory | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 26 |
4 | Western Sydney | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 23 |
5 | Perth | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 19 |
6 | Heart | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | -2 | 18 |
7 | Brisbane | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 17 |
8 | Newcastle | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | -9 | 17 |
9 | Wellington | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 16 |
10 | Sydney | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | -14 | 14 |
Neumann's first goal came through good fortune, the second through Dario Vidosic.
The Argentine opened scoring in the 29th minute when Perth defender Scott Jamieson swung a leg in an attempted clearance near the penalty spot.
Jamieson badly miscued, just making enough contact with the ball to plop it over Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic and into Neumann's path for a tap in.
Eight minutes later, Vidosic delivered a calculating through pass to give Neumann a run at goal, and the striker trickled a left-footer past the approaching Vukovic which rolled slowly into the net.
Perth should have equalised two minutes later when three players had scoring shots in a pinball episode.
Relive all the action at our Match Centre, plus video highlights
Steven McGarry powered a long range attempt into a side bar, the ball fell to Shane Smeltz who blasted into a Reds defender and the rebound went to Liam Miller, whose shot was saved by Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic.
The fifth-placed Glory, winless from their past four games and losing touch with the top four, slipped further behind one minute into the second half when Ramsay netted a cracking one-timer.
A Vidosic corner was cleared by the Glory but the ball fell invitingly towards Ramsay, who sized up from 15 metres and powered a left-footer into the top corner to beat a diving Vukovic.
But Perth scored twice in the dying stages - a contentious 89th minute penalty to Shane Smeltz after he went to ground from slight contact with Reds defender Antony Golec, and a McGarry strike a minute before the final whistle.
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