The game had already seen eight goals. Defense appeared optional at nib Stadium in Perth, Australia.
With the Perth Glory leading 5-3 over Melbourne City - a Manchester City feeder club - in stoppage time, the home fans were treated to a hilarious bit of madness from goalkeeper Liam Reddy with time winding down in the match.
Reddy, possibly frustrated by the lack of defensive ability throughout the match, decided he wanted to have a go out in the field. He charged down a long ball forward by Melbourne that brought him just out of his penalty area, but instead of booting it away to kill time and clear the danger, he decided he was going to treat the fans to his best Lionel Messi impression.
The Perth outfield players are left utterly bewildered, and hardly move as they stare baffled by their suddenly adventurous teammate. As you’d expect, because Reddy is, in fact, not Lionel Messi, the ball was eventually stolen by Melbourne City before the halfway line. Reddy would be made to pay for his mistake as the visitors took advantage of the empty net.
Perhaps the most embarrassing part for Reddy was that, after being dispossessed, he seemed consigned to his fate and dropped his head to slowly walk back to his goal. However, the Perth defense looked to bail out their shot-stopper, and momentarily kept Melbourne City from shooting. Reddy realized this too late, and by the time he’d begun to sprint back towards his position in front of net, the opposition had finally unleashed a shot on goal. Had he made his way back immediately after being dispossessed, he might have made it back in time to save face.
As the match commentator put it, “I think this is the maddest game I’ve seen in the A-League.” The game ended 5-4 as Perth held on through stoppage time to win the game and draw level with Melbourne City on points in the league table.
