Glory were eliminated from the 2025 Hahn Australia Cup in dramatic circumstances on Sunday afternoon as Wellington Phoenix prevailed 8-7 on penalties after the two sides had fought out a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.
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A close-range finish from Lukas Kelly-Heald saw the visitors take a 1-0 lead into the half-time break, but Glory created the better chances throughout and deservedly levelled things up two minutes from the end of regulation time through substitute Adam Taggart.
The start of extra-time was then delayed by a thunderstorm which forced the players from the field and when they did return, the two sides still could not be separated during the 30 minutes of additional time.
The epic nature of the game duly continued as the penalty shootout went to sudden-death and Phoenix eventually booked their place in the Round of 16 when Glory’s Brian Kaltak fired over and Kelly-Heald calmly stroked home his second of the afternoon.
Clear-cut opportunities were at something of a premium in the first-half as both teams were forced to adapt to the challenging wet and windy conditions at Kingsway Reserve.
Glory’s Nathanael Blair was twice foiled by smart, sprwaling saves from Wellington’s ‘keeper Josh Oluwaymi, while at the other end, Oli Sail responded in kind to deny Sloane-Rodrigues.
But despite enjoying the bulk of the possession, David Zdrilic’s side found themselves trailing 20 minutes in when Sail was unable to push Luke Brooke-Smith’s curler out of harm’s way and Kelly-Heald reacted quickest to force home the loose ball.
Scott Wootton then came close to restoring parity on the hour-mark, nodding a corner from fellow-former Phoenix man Sam Sutton narrowly wide and with nine minutes left, the industrious Taras Gomulka fired just over from the edge of the box.
As the final whistle loomed, Glory redoubled their efforts and finally found a way through right at the death when Taggart showed all his striker’s instincts to steer home a Gomulka shot which was drifting wide of the target.
Extra-time had barely started when the weather took a significant turn for the worse and play was held up, but when the action resumed, it was Glory who continued to have the upper hand.
Taggart tested Oluwayemi with a low shot and a defenisve mix-up almost gifted the hosts an own-goal winner before referee Liam Barclay brought an end to proceedings and to penalties we went.
After Taggart opened the shootout by scoring, Wellington skipper Kazuki Nagasawa missed to put Glory in the box seat and Adam Bugarija, Taras Gomulka and Khoa Ngo subsequently all found the net to put the men in purple on the cusp of victory.
But Brandon O’Neill was unable to seal the deal as he sent his effort over the bar and although Kaelan Majekodunmi, Sam Sutton and Andriano Lebib converted successfully, Phoenix matched them each time.
As the tension continued to build, Brian Kaltak’s effort was too high and Kelly-Heald held his nerve to win it for the Kiwi side.
Match Details
Hahn Australia Cup 2025 Round of 32
Perth Glory 1 (Taggart 88′) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Kelly-Heald 20′) AET
Wellington Phoenix won 8-7 on penalties
Half-time: 0-1
Olympic Stadium, Kingsway Reserve
Sunday 27 July 2025
Referee: Liam Barclay
Perth Glory: 1.Oli SAIL (gk), 3.Sam SUTTON, 4.Scott WOOTTON (45.Brian KALTAK 75′) (c), 8.Callum TIMMINS (6.Brandon O’NEILL 106′), 12.Taras GOMULKA, 14.Nathanael BLAIR (22.Adam TAGGART 75′), 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Trent OSTLER (24.Andriano LEBIB 117′), 28.Kaelan MAJEKODUNMI, 31.Joel ANASMO (26.Khoa NGO 46′), 17.Arion SULEMANI (16.Adam BUGARIJA 75′)
Substitutes not used: 13.Cameron COOK (gk)
Yellow Cards: Ostler, Timmins, Ngo, Risdon, Gomulka
Red Cards: None
Wellington Phoenix: 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk), 3. Corban PIPER, 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE (42. Fergus GILLION 102′), 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES (8. Paulo RETRE 83′), 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 24.Xuan LOKE (46. Lachlan CANDY 120′), 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA (c), 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH (23. Luke SUPYK 68′), 39.Jayden SMITH
Substitutes not used: 31.Ryan LEE, 40. Eamonn MCCARRON (gk), 48.Mac MUNRO
Yellow Cards: Retre, Loke
Red Cards:
#ONEGlory
Match Report: Glory suffer shootout heartache in Australia Cup epic
