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Adam Taggart has boosted his chances of a Socceroos recall by scoring a second-half brace in Perth Glory’s 2-2 A-League Men draw with the Newcastle Jets at HBF Park.
The Jets looked on track for an easy victory on Saturday night following Clayton Taylor’s 13th-minute strike and a 55th-minute goal to Lucas Mauragis.
But with Socceroos coach Graham Arnold watching on from the stands, Taggart turned the match on its head with goals in the 72nd and 90th minutes.
Glory almost snatched the win in stoppage time, but David Williams’ glancing header struck the crossbar.
Taggart now has 14 goals this season from 18 matches, with his hot form putting him right in the selection mix for the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon this month.
Glory only had 33 per cent possession in the first half, and their first shot on target didn’t arrive until the 39th minute when Stefan Colakovkski’s strike was saved by the feet of goalkeepr Ryan Scott.
In contrast, Perth goalkeeper Oliver Sail had a busy first half.
Sail produced diving saves to deny thunderous long-range bullets from Taylor and Thomas Aquilina early in the match.
The dam wall eventually broke in the 40th minute when Taylor expertly chested down in the box before nailing his strike from a tight angle.
Newcastle went 2-0 up in the 55th minute when Mauragis’ powerful strike took a deflection off a Glory defender and thundered into the net.
But the game exploded back to life in the 72nd minute when Taggart pulled a goal back after trapping David Williams’ long ball and nailing his strike.
Adam Taggart celebrates a goal for Perth Glory. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images)
Glory thought they had equalised three minutes later when substitute defender Kaelan Majekodunmi thundered home a header.
But the goal was disallowed after referee Lachlan Keevers deemed Jets striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos had been taken down in the lead-up.
Replays appeared to show Stamatelopoulos had clattered into a stationary defender, and Glory players were livid when the goal was rubbed out.
Glory kept pushing, and Taggart levelled the scores approaching stoppage time with a powerful header from a corner.
The draw leaves Glory seven points adrift of sixth-placed Western Sydney, who they host next week.
© AAP
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