Brisbane Roar takes home a 1-1 draw at Allianz Stadium after being denied a victory after a late equaliser from Sydney FC in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Saturday afternoon.
In a match of physicality and determination by the Roar, the sky blues caused an upset in the final minutes of stoppage time to ensure the points were shared.
Sydney were strong in their pursuit from the start, immediately putting pressure up front to create goal opportunities and dominating possession.
Although having a slow start, Brisbane found points first in the 33rd minute with Joe Knowles executing a top-notch cross just outside the goal box for Nikola Mileusnic to gain control and find the back of the net at the near post.
After the break, Brisbane’s Jordan Courtney-Perkins gave away a penalty with a handball, giving Sydney the chance to equalise in the 64th minute.
Joe Lolley stepped up for the penalty and struck the ball to the bottom right corner, but Jordan Holmes dived the right way for a stellar save by the Roar keeper.
In the 80th minute, Sydney’s Patrick Yazbek took a long range shot to test Holmes once again as it slipped out of his hands and through his legs making a dangerous roll to the goal line but was picked up before the sky blues could claim the goal.
Just when the Roar thought their winless streak had come to and end, Sydney defender Joel King executed a cross into the goal area for Alex Parsons to score the equaliser as the curtains closed.
Brisbane’s defence is to yet again be commended, as consistent solid efforts from Scott Neville, Tom Aldred, and Jordan Courtney-Perkins were crucial against Sydney’s attack.
Head Coach Warren Moon is proud of his squad’s efforts despite the disappointing end to the match and is only taking positives away from the draw.
“Really disappointed, despite the game as a whole, when you’ve only got a few minutes to go and we’ve defended so brilliantly, that’s a really tough one to take,” Moon said.
“I thought my players were courageous and magnificent tonight, the way they applied themselves in that last thirty minutes.”
It was the first time Stefan Scepovic was placed in the starting 11 on Saturday and there was no shortage of eyes on the Serbian.
Moon was pleased with what he saw of the striker and is confident that when more of the club’s new signings become fitter, the squad will come out firing.
Moon’s plans are looking forward to the last nine games and his aim for the squad is to make a dent in the competition, shooting for a spot in that top six.
“We are not going to lie down, we are going to keep pushing,” Moon said.
“We’re going to get the boys fitter and we’re going to have a crack in every game and try and get as many points as we can,” he said.
