Teenage sensation Nestor Irankunda may have salvaged Adelaide United a 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory in the A-League Men's first Pride Cup but their coach Carl Veart doesn't believe his side should have trailed at all.
Down 1-0 after Bruno Fornaroli put Victory ahead from the penalty spot six minutes prior, the Reds' appeared set for defeat at AAMI Park until Irankunda's 87th minute blast.
Adding another highlight to his young career, the 17-year-old found space outside Victory's area and launched a thunderbolt into the top corner before backflipping away in celebration.
No team in ALM has proven more adept at late comebacks than Adelaide in recent years and Sunday was no different.
Veart, however, didn't believe that his side should have been in a deficit.
He took issue with the VAR intervention that awarded Fornaroli's penalty after a collision between Alexander Popovic and Damien Da Silva at a corner.
"It's there for bad mistakes and we're using it far too much," Veart said.
"I don't know why something like that was looked at.
"We're making it very difficult for ourselves and for people to have enjoyment of the game.
"The players also have to take a lot of the blame as well, they fall over far too easily, trying to con the referees, and then they complain when it goes against them."
Victory will take heart from picking up seven points from a possible 12 across the past month and looking improved from the side that was freefalling at the foot of the ALM table.
They were, however, dealt what could be a major blow just before halftime when playmaker Jake Brimmer suffered a potentially major injury.
The 24-year-old went down to the turf holding his left knee after a contest with Javi Lopez and though able to wave away a stretcher, he required support from Victory trainers as he hobbled down the players' race.
"The diagnosis is not good at this early stage, until we get a full report," Victory assistant coach Luciano Traini said.
"The way that he's feeling at the moment, it's not good, unfortunately.
"He has a lot of pain in his knee.
"If he was to miss for some period of time we would definitely miss him."
Victory and Adelaide wore pride kits during the fixture to mark the inaugural staging of what will become an annual fixture between the two clubs to celebrate LGBTQI inclusion.
