Melbourne City’s hopes of winning the Premiers Plate are in tatters after they suffered a 3-2 loss to Perth Glory in Sunday’s A-League clash at nib Stadium.
Glory striker Andy Keogh scored one goal and set up two others as Perth ran rampant in the second half.
Keogh’s goal saw him break the Australian national league record scoring streak, with the former Irish international now having scored in each of his past eight matches.
Gyorgy Sandor and Diego Castro also scored in the second half as Glory raced out to a 3-0 lead, before star City striker Bruno Fornaroli (73rd minute) and Marc Marino (92nd) scored consolation goals.
The result left City three points adrift of ladder leaders Brisbane with just one round remaining.
It means City will need to beat Adelaide next week and rely on a host of other results to fall their way if they are to finish on top.
Glory’s 10th win from their past 11 matches has put them within touching distance of a home final, with the club now just one point adrift of fourth-placed City ahead of their final-round match against Sydney.
But it wasn’t all good news for Glory, with in-form striker Chris Harold set to miss the start of the finals after injuring his hamstring in the first half.
Glory dominated play in the first half, and Keogh could have easily scored a brace had he been better with his finishing touch.
Tempers threatened to boil over just before the break when Glory defender Shane Lowry and Fornaroli became engaged in an off-the-ball scuffle as they were running next to each other.
Fornaroli then appeared to make slight head-to-head contact with Lowry as they faced up to each other.
Melbourne captain Patrick Kisnorbo accidentally knocked the yellow card out of referee Shaun Evans’ hand during the ensuing chaos, but Lowry was the only player who went into the book.
City were lucky to enter the break tied at 0-0, but it didn’t take long for the floodgates to open.
Keogh got the ball rolling with a simple tap-in in the 55th minute.
The 29-year-old then turned provider with a deft chip to set up Sandor’s 68th minute strike.
Keogh also produced the final pass in Glory’s third goal – but it was Castro who deserved most of the plaudits after unleashing a brilliant volley from the edge of the box.
Fornaroli notched his 23rd goal of the season when he pulled one back in the 73rd minute, and Marino sent a scare through the 14,504 crowd when he found the back of the net in stoppage time.
But City ran out of time to find a third goal.
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