Joey Garuccio has etched his name into Adelaide United folklore after scoring a 99th-minute equaliser to secure the Reds a heart-stopping Original Rivalry draw with arch-rivals Melbourne Victory.
With Victory reduced to 10 men and desperately trying to defend their lead on Sunday, Garuccio arrived on time to meet a well-placed delivery from Adelaide skipper Ryan Kitto, securing a 2-2 draw to send fans at Coopers Stadium into delirium.
The visitors had appeared set to secure a desperately needed win after Jordi Valadon’s long-range blast in the 64th minute and a 70th-minute volley from Keegan Jelacic cancelled out Brody Burkitt’s goal on the stroke of halftime.
Instead, though, Philipp Ziereis received his second yellow in the 86th minute to put his side at a numbers disadvantage and, when 10 minutes of added time was signalled, the stage was set for 20-year-old Garuccio to emerge as the hero.
“Might not be getting the three points, but I think we showed good fight today,” Garuccio told Paramount+.
As remarkable as the contest was, however, the draw means both sides remain winless in the league, the duo having come into the contest juggling the demands of domestic and Asian Champions League 2 (ACL2) football and desperate to kickstart their A-League Men campaigns.
Adelaide may have snapped their losing run with the point but haven’t won since October 15.
“For us, it’s something that’s been recurring: we are in control of the match and having good periods, then we end up being our worst enemies by making mistakes,” Reds boss Airton Andrioli said.
“I don’t know how it happened so quickly, we were 2-1 down.
“But credit to the boys, they kept fighting to the end."
Under rising pressure is Victory boss Giovanni Savarese, who led his new side to an Australia Cup final soon after arriving but who has now won just once in his past nine games.
In five of those fixtures, Victory, who entered the season with title aspirations, have dropped points after being in a winning position, In three of those fixtures, they have conceded winning goals in the 85th minute or later.
“The fans deserve to see a team that gets results, gets wins,” said Savarese.
“It’s normal for fans to be upset when teams don’t produce three points.
“I think we’ve been very close in every match; we haven’t had one match in which we felt hopeless.”
