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Adelaide's Barbiero saw red shortly after coming off the bench when he apparently decked Glory's Dean Heffernan late in the match.

The clash may have been payback for a heavy challenge by Heffernan on Reds striker Bruce Djite which led to Glory's opening goal by Billy Mehmet after just five minutes.

Jacob Burns doubled the advantage after 23 minutes when he fired in a curling long shot from distance.

Adelaide offered little in return but appeared to have got off the mark when the ball ended up in the net from a goalmouth scramble, but was disallowed after the ref ruled it was kicked out of Glory keeper Danny Vukovic's hands.

TV replays however suggested Vukovic nerver had the ball under control.

The result pushes Glory into third spot on the ladder for the moment, while the loss has all but buried Adelaide's flickering hopes of a finals spot as they sit in ninth spot and still eight points off Newcastle Jets in sixth.

With Adelaide still refusing to give up on a top six finish the home side did little to suggest they were going to threaten Perth in the early stages.

The Reds failed to flow forward and were eventually punished in controversial circumstances.

Forward Bruce Djite was felled in the Reds' attacking half by Perth defender Dean Heffernan but the Glory continued to surge forward as the hosts back peddled toward their own goal.

Burns linked well with Scotsman Steven McGarry before threading a ball out wide to former Adelaide captain Travis Dodd who in turn delivered a pinpoint cross to Mehmet who made no mistake from six yards.

Adelaide players were furious in protest at the lack of fair play from Perth as a replay flashed across the stadium screen showing that Mehmet was also offside.

The remarkable passage of play saw a yellow card brandished to United captain and goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic for his upfront remonstration to referee Matt Gillett.

Chances dried up for either side until a failure to clear from United's defenders gave Perth their second.

A scramble from a Perth corner saw the bobble out to Burns who struck a thumping 20-yard left-foot half-volley beyond an outstretched Galekovic.

Adelaide had a clear opportunity to equalise in the 39th minute when Perth stopper Seb Van Den Brink made a meal of a regulation clearance kicking the ball into Reds striker Sergio van Dijk inside the Glory's area.

However the Dutchman failed to capitalise in his milestone 100th appearance.

Dodd almost haunted his former club in his first visit back to Hindmarsh when he latched onto a long through ball clear of Adelaide's defence, only for Galekovic to beat his ex-team-mate to the ball.

Dodd again tormented the Reds in the 59th minute when he megged Olyroo Antony Golec to race at the by-line before cutting a dangerous ball back across goal to Adam Hughes, who fired his shot well over.

The Reds were embroiled in controversy once more when Nigel Boogaard's 76th minute header from Dario Vidosic's corner was disallowed by Gillett after the official had deemed the 25-year-old to have fouled an opponent in the box.

Barbiero had barely spent 15 minutes on the pitch when he was sent off for the second time in his Adelaide career – astonishingly also the second time as a substitute – when he clashed behind play with Heffernan.

Adelaide United 0
Perth Glory 2 (Mehmet 6, Burns 24)
5,898 at Hindmarsh Stadium

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