Ghoochannejhad scores winning penalty in A-League final [VIDEO]
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Loading...Fox Sports Asia – SYDNEY, Former Iran international Reza Ghoochannejhad ensured he will go down in Sydney FC folklore as he scored their winning penalty in Sunday’s 2018/19 A-League grand final.
Ghoochannejhad, who has spent the past four months on loan from Cyprus’ APOEL, has not had the easiest of times in Australia and has scored just one goal in his time on loan.
But, against Perth Glory on Sunday, the 31-year-old – who represented Iran at last year’s FIFA World Cup – rose to the occasion when it really mattered.
With neither side able to find the breakthrough in the 90 minutes, and subsequently the added 30 minutes of extra-time, the grand final then went down to the lottery of the shootout.
Sydney FC goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne emerged as the hero as he saved efforts by Andy Keogh and Brendon Santalab after Juande had opened Perth’s account, while team-mates Adam le Fondre, Brandon O’Neill and Rhyan Grant all made no mistake in converting.
This set the stage for Ghoochannejhad and he emphatically dispatched a left-footed strike past Liam Reddy to win it for Sydney.
