Three injury-time goals by South Adelaide, including a 97th-minute equaliser by goalkeeper Ryan Veitch, sealed a remarkable 4-4 draw against Adelaide Croatia Raiders.
Veitch’s match got off to a rough start, though, as he spilled a low shot which was pounced on by James Temelkovski to open the scoring in the 22nd minute before being rounded by the same player to hand Raiders a two-goal cushion six minutes later.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors just after half-time when Liam Wooding was shown a second yellow for catching Omari Didero late, reducing them to ten men for the rest of the match.
Vianne Kurikwimana scored twice in ten minutes, either side of a skilful Jonathon Rideout finish for the Panthers, to extend Raiders’ lead to 4-1 entering added time and appeared to kill off the game.
Rideout provided South with a faint glimmer of home when he added a second goal in the 92nd minute, before creating a third for Masaya Sasaki three minutes later to breathe life back into the contest.
And it was Veitch who proved the unlikeliest of heroes for South, sent forward for a final roll of the dice on a set-piece and smashing a loose ball into the back of the net to send the away fans into raptures.
Adelaide Blue Eagles shocked MetroStars 2-1 to break through for their first win of the season, while Croydon FC leapfrogged Cumberland United out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win.
Campbelltown City prevailed in their Grand Final rematch against Adelaide Comets, while Adelaide City and Sturt Lions earned wins over Adelaide Olympic and Adelaide United, respectively.
RAA NPLSA Goals Wrap | Round 17
