Stoppage-time goal gifts Auckland FC point
- 10 minutes ago
- 2 min read
A moment of madness in the fifth minute of stoppage time saw Auckland FC snatch a 1-1 draw against Sydney FC
Just as Sydney seemed destined for victory, Auckland somehow forced an equaliser to snatch a point on the road at Sydney's Leichhardt Oval on Tuesday night in Round 10 of the A-League.
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A long-ball into the Sydney box led to a smart Harrison Devenish-Meares save from a Nando Pijnaker header, but the ensuing clearance from Jordan Courtney-Perkins was smashed straight into Alex Grant, before ricocheting into the hosts’ net.
Sydney's pressure in the second half finally paid off through an unlikely hero in the 84th minute.
Alexandar Popovic rose unmarked to meet a Piero Quispe cross from six yards out. He flicked it into the bottom corner past the helpless Michael Woud, and after a lengthy VAR check for offside, the goal was confirmed.
The match sparked into life on 10 minutes and the visitors almost scored first when Jesse Randall attempted to lob Devenish-Meares from outside the area.
Felipe Gallegos’ long-ball sat up perfectly on 20 yards and the Sydney goalkeeper found himself at the top of the box, but Randall’s effort lacked the power to find its way to the back of the net.
Moments later the hosts were down the other end of the pitch with Apostolos Stamatelopoulos setting up Victor Campuzano in front, only for Campuzano to have his shot blocked wide by Francis de Vries.
Campuzano then had another golden chance to score from the resulting corner but Woud’s diving save denied the forward from four yards.
Both teams continued to create chances throughout the opening half but neither could find the breakthrough.
Sydney had a penalty shout turned down in the 27th minute and on the cusp of halftime they had Devenish-Meares to thank for keeping it goalless as he saved sharply from a stinging Dan Hall strike.
The second half began with the hosts piling pressure on Auckland and Stamatelopoulos found himself in the thick of the chances early doors.
He drew a sharp save from Woud in the 49th minute before heading a gilt-edged chance wide on the hour, and was then denied again 10 minutes later by Woud as the intensity and possession ramped up.
Auckland, who have just one win and five points in their last five matches, remain second on the A-League ladder on 29 points.
Steve Corica's side trail the Newcastle Jets, currently on a seven-match heater dating back to December, by five points, while they have a three-point buffer between them and Sydney and Adelaide United.
Next up for Auckland is the third Kiwi Clasico against the 10th-placed Wellington Phoenix at the capital's Sky Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 5pm).
Auckland FC 1 (Alex Grant OG 95') Sydney FC 1 (Alexandar Popovic 84'). HT: 0-0