Brisbane Roar played out a 1-1 draw against Wellington Phoenix in Isuzu UTE A-League Round 18 action at Sky Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Both sides were forced to settle for a share of the spoils after trading second half goals through Isaac Hughes and Henry Hore in a tightly fought Waitangi Day clash.
Nathan Amanatidis came to close to marking his Roar debut with a goal inside a minute when he inctercepted a stray ball out of the Phoenix defence and forced Alby Kelly-Heald into a fingertip save with a bullet header.
Roar’s bright start to the contest continued when Ben Halloran got in behind the defence on the end of a Hore through ball but shot straight at Kelly-Heald before Sam Klein sent a header of the bar with the goal at his mercy a minute later.
The home side grew into the game with Kosta Barbarouses forcing a strong save from Macklin Freke after latching onto a misplaced back pass in the eleventh minute before the Roar number custodian denied Corban Piper one-on-one in the 23rd minute.
VAR featured heavily in the opening half, ruling out an offside Phoenix goal before turning down the home sides claims for a penalty late on in the opening stanza.
Phoenix took the lead in the 61st minute when Hughes rose highest to head home from a Hideki Ishige corner.
Roar came within inches of an equaliser three minutes later when Halloran’s cross found Jay O’Shea, who fired his first time strike against the inside the of the woodwork.
An equaliser did come in the 71st minute when Hore skipped past Corban Piper before calmly finishing past Kelly-Heald following a brilliant run and through ball by Keegan Jelacic for what was his second goal in three games since returning from his loan in Korea.
Despite showing plenty of impetus neither side was able to find a winner with the scoreline finishing 1-1.
Thursday’s match also saw a debut late on for new recruit and two-time NPL Queensland Player of the Year, Austin Ludwik who replaced Louis Zabala in stoppage time.
Ruben Zadkovich’s side have the bye next weekend before heading to Newcastle to face the Jets at Mcdonald Jones Stadium on Friday, February 21.
MATCH DETAILS
Isuzu UTE A-League Men 2024/25 – Round 18: Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar
Sky Stadium, Wellington
Thursday, 6 February
Wellington Phoenix – 1 (Isaac HUGHES 61’)
Brisbane Roar – 1 (Henry HORE 71’)
