A contentious injury-time equaliser from Jamie Harnwell snatched a share of the points for Perth Glory on March 2, as the visitors shared six goals with the Football Kingz in a rip-roaring National Soccer League encounter at Christchurch’s Jade Stadium. The home side were never headed on the scoreboard in this lively match, but were ultimately made to rue three crucial misses by Harnwell’s headed leveller at the death. Yet it was a goal which should have been ruled out by the otherwise well-performed referee, Matthew Breeze. For in reaching the cross supplied by the cultured left foot of John Carbone, Harnwell had climbed all over the back of Kingz defender Sean Douglas. The defender’s reaction to Breeze’s decision to award the goal was one of complete astonishment, an expression matched by his disbelieving team-mates, who had worked tirelessly throughout the ninety minutes to thwart Perth’s bid to set a club record ten consecutive matches without defeat. Indeed, the home side dominated the early exchanges, and deservedly opened the scoring in the eighteenth minute with the game’s second attack of consequence. After Jason Petkovic had hurtled off his line to prevent Gerard Davis from capitalising on a Wynton Rufer through ball, Michael Cartwright lofted the sphere forward to Paul Urlovic, who controlled it well but was prevented from lashing home past the ’keeper by Perth’s captain, Gareth Naven. Unfortunately for the retreating defender, his attempt to clear the danger sent the ball soaring into the top right-hand corner of Petkovic’s net, thus marking the first of a remarkable three own goals in this riveting engagement. Conceding a goal was akin to waving a red rag at a bull, as far as Perth were concerned, for they raised the tempo almost immediately, and put the Kingz very much on the back foot for the next twenty minutes. It took them a good eight minutes to start making real in-roads, however, but the sight of Shane Pryce surging out of defence and playing a deft one-two with Carbone was the cue for Bobby Despotovski to create some space for himself near the edge of the Kingz penalty area. Pryce picked him out, and the striker neatly controlled the ball on his chest, before firing off a twenty-yard volley which Simon Eaddy saved well, low to his right. The visitors then forced a succession of corners, which Carbone delivered with menace aplenty. The Kingz had scrambled an earlier effort clear, but Eaddy was forced to paw the ball to safety at his near post in the 27th minute, as the midfielder’s inswinging delivery arced dangerously towards the target. Carbone’s next delivery was to the far post, where Pryce rose high to beat Eaddy in the air, but could not direct his header on target. Moments later, the Kingz scrambled another Carbone corner to the lurking figure of Despotovski. His cross picked out the league’s most prolific marksman, Damian Mori, who directed his header straight at Eaddy. It was only a matter of time before Perth drew level, and parity came to pass in the 33rd minute, a Carbone corner, inevitably, the source. The most deft of glancing headers at the near post from Despotovski beat Eaddy all ends up, and the ball was well over the line before Jeff Campbell could clear the sphere to safety. Within three minutes, Mori was twice denied by Eaddy. On the first occasion, the striker fired his shot straight at the burly custodian on receipt of a Carbone pass, while Naven’s lofted ball forward seconds later sent Mori through the Kingz rearguard, only for the striker to be forced into firing well wide of the mark by the fast-advancing goalkeeper, who, generally, performed highly creditably, but for one glaring misjudgement, about which, more later. For seven minutes before the break, and somewhat against the run of play at the time, the Kingz hit the front once again. Wynton Rufer had been rather subdued to this point in the match, but made his presence felt in the best manner possible, with a goal of exquisite quality. A Kingz raid had broken down on the left when Urlovic arrived on the scene to pick up the pieces. While holding off a couple of challenges, he spotted Rufer dropping off his marker, Harnwell, as the player-coach made a run into the penalty area. Urlovic delivered a pinpoint cross over the shoulder of the retreating defender, and which dropped perfectly for the blindside-running Rufer, whose first touch killed the pace on the ball completely. From ten yards, and with Petkovic completely exposed, Oceania’s Player of the Twentieth Century struck clinically, his classic strike restoring the Kingz lead. They maintained it to the break, but should really have extended it in stoppage time at the end of the first half. After Eaddy had again thwarted Mori, Rufer again demonstrated that, despite his advancing years, when he is on his game, he is still well capable of prising open a defence with skill and subtlety aplenty. Gathering the ball near the edge of Perth’s penalty area, he looked to shoot, but found the presence of Harnwell invariably in his way. As he moved across the box, Craig Deans and Gary Faria were also drawn towards the ball, and moved in to challenge. As the trio closed, Rufer clipped the most delicious of chipped passes between them to Urlovic, who had been left completely unmarked near the penalty spot. Perhaps bedazzled by his team-mate’s trickery, the striker’s first touch was awful, and the resulting shot, struck as Naven closed, flew well wide of the mark, with Petkovic again left to read the riot act to those immediately in front of him. Given Perth’s spell of dominance during the first spell, the majority in the 3872-strong crowd couldn’t help but wonder if the Kingz would live to regret Urlovic’s miss. Such fears were not eased

early in the second spell, as Edgar Junior fired wide from twelve yards out upon being gifted the ball by Cartwright, and Eaddy was twice forced into producing saves. The first, inevitably, was at Mori’s expense, the ‘keeper battering his header to safety after Faria had provided Carbone with the pass to fire over yet another fine cross - his delivery throughout proceedings was invariably accurate. Eaddy’s second denial came at the feet of Nick Mrdja, who had entered the fray at the expense of Despotovski just seconds beforehand, and was quickly brought into the game by Vinko Buljubasic, the impressive half-time substitute, who had made a surging run forward from deep in the 57th minute. The Kingz, whose cause had not been aided by the early departure of Mark Burton through injury, weathered the storm, and came close to extending their advantage still further on the hour. Campbell’s corner was met on the run by Rufer, whose last act of note in the match was a header which bulleted towards the target. Petkovic reacted instinctively to parry the sphere, and quickly recovered to save the rebound at the feet of Urlovic, as he moved in for the kill. By the time the 71st minute mark had arrived, Mori was being forced to drop deeper and wider to counter the Kingz defensive ploy, which had largely restricted him to shooting from distance. By doing so, he was better able to make darting runs into space, and one such burst was spotted by Faria, who clipped the ball to his free-scoring team-mate. Mori’s shot was instinctive, a volleyed lob which caught Eaddy off his line. The ’keeper beat a hasty retreat, and was relieved to see the ball cannon back off his right-hand upright. Unfortunately for the Kingz last line of defence, he couldn’t gather the rebound cleanly, the ball now somewhat greasy as a result of the light rain which had begun to cascade soon after the start of the match. Worse was to come for Eaddy, in the form of Faria’s resulting corner. The ‘keeper called and came for it as the sphere arced towards the edge of his six-yard box, Mori being Faria’s intended target. But Eaddy made a right meal of his attempted punched clearance, missing the ball completely. It struck him on the shoulder and bounced into the net - 2-2, and the game’s second own goal. Its third was a further four minutes away, but before it came to pass, the Kingz survived more Mori-prompted Perth pressure. Gathering Naven’s searching through ball, the striker evaded Levent Osman’s challenge, and found space for a shot which Eaddy parried. Both Junior and Mrdja were denied in the resulting scramble, the home side keeping their attack-minded opponents at bay on this occasion. Within seconds, the Kingz were back in front. A forward surge by Osman was brought to an abrupt and illegal halt just outside Perth’s penalty area, at which Campbell’s eyes lit up. Well-executed set-pieces and the Kingz haven’t exactly been commonplace since the club’s entry in the NSL, but what followed was an absolute peach. With the assistance of the solidly-performed Andy Bluhm, the similarly-performed Campbell uncorked a cracking free-kick, which soared over the defensive wall and cannoned down off the crossbar. The diving Petkovic was beaten all ends up, but didn’t deserve the indignity of putting through his own net, the sphere doing so via his posterior. As well as restoring the Kingz lead yet again, this 76th minute goal immediately prompted the question, "When was the last occasion both goalkeepers scored own goals in the same match?" Not that the home team were interested in such matters of footballing trivia at this stage. Indeed, they sought to extend their advantage nine minutes from time, only for Petkovic to punch Harry Ngata’s cross off the head of Dennis Ibrahim. Back came Perth, a third equaliser their objective. Twice within a minute, Harnwell sent headers past Eaddy’s right-hand post, following crosses from Carbone and Faria. Unperturbed, the Kingz countered, Bluhm, Ngata and Ibrahim combining in splendid fashion in the ninetieth minute to create a chance for Urlovic, which he snatched at when time to control the ball was available to him. With the game now in stoppage time, the home team pressed again. Bluhm released the soundly-performed Aaran Lines on the left, and he whipped a first-time cross into the heart of Perth’s goalmouth. Surging through the crowd hurtled Ngata, who flung himself forward and executed the classic diving header. Had it gone in, it would have been a superb match-winner. But with Petkovic rooted to the spot, the ball took the paint off the base of his right-hand post, at which Perth breathed a huge sigh of relief, before mounting another charge. This time, they struck pay-dirt. Faria and Carbone again linked to good effect on the left, the latter’s inch-perfect cross being headed home by Harnwell, despite his use of Douglas as a step-ladder to do so. 3-3, but still the drama continued, as the stunned Kingz forced a free-kick wide on Perth’s left flank. Campbell struck it viciously, and initially, Petkovic was unsighted. But he saw it late, and got down well to save the effort, at which the final whistle sounded, bringing to an end a fine advert for NSL action, albeit one which the Kingz were visibly disappointed at being denied all three points from by the game’s lone moment of controversy. Kingz:          Eaddy, Cartwright (Van Steeden, 63), Osman, Douglas; Campbell, Davis (booked, 55), Burton (Ngata, 28), Bluhm, Lines; Rufer (Ibrahim, 68), Urlovic Perth:          Petkovic; Pryce, Naven, Harnwell; Roberts (Buljubasic, 46), Junior, Carbone, Faria, Deans; Mori, Despotovski (Mrdja, 56) Referee:     Matthew Breeze