Brisbane Strikers overcame a two-goal deficit and being a player short to draw three-all against Melbourne Knights at Knights Stadium on Sunday night.
In a game where Brisbane held the greater balance of play, but Knights had the goals, a draw was a fair result, even if it took Fernando Rech's penalty deep into added time to close the curtain on an entertaining game.
Knights had scored through Ante Pelikan and two from Henry Fa'arodo, and the Strikers had managed two in reply from Rech and David Pilic before Peter Grierson got his marching orders for his second yellow card with more than fifteen minutes still to play. As the full points seemed in Knights' knapsack, a moment of madness involving Knights' goalkeeper Martin John upending Rech in the penalty-area led to the penalty and Rech's equaliser that brought this enthralling contest to an end.
"Over-all, I think a draw was a fair result," said Knights' player-coach Andrew Marth after the game. "We were totally outplayed (in the) first half. We addressed the situation (in the) second half and I thought we played better."
"I never doubted we'd get something out of it," said Strikers' coach John Kosmina, agreeing that Brisbane had totally outplayed Knights in the first half, despite the scoreboard giving Knights a goal advantage at that point. "We gave two cheap goals away."
Knights' livewire midfielder Pelikan opened the scoring when he outsped a square Strikers' back-line onto a cleverly weighted diagonal ball played in by Daniel Vasilevski from the right, and found himself facing only Strikers' goalkeeper Jason Kearton. Kearton had to race from his line and met the ball at the same time as Pelikan outside his penalty-area. Pelikan's touch was better, and he was able to reach the ball again before being closed down, lifting it into the now unguarded net.
Brisbane levelled within twenty minutes from a corner swung in to Steve Laybutt at the edge of the penalty-area. Laybutt had time and space to control the ball and feed Rech who side-footed home from eight metres.
Fa'arodo was the unwitting scorer who re-took the lead for Knights five minutes before the break. It came from a goalmouth scramble which arose following referee Mark Williams' award of a free-kick at the edge of the penalty-area when Jonathan McKain fouled Adrian Cervinski. The free-kick was blasted into a crowd of players, and Marth was first to respond, sending in a shot which was cleared from the goal-line, but into Fa'arodo's shins and over the line.
Fa'arodo's second goal was considerably more intentional and came when Cervinski split the square Strikers' back-line with a little through-pass which the Solomon Islander pounced on as Laybutt trailled in his wake. Kearton made himself sufficiently large enough to make the target small, and for Fa'arodo to place his shot onto the post. But it was an easy enough job for him to follow up and tap home from two-metres.
If the home fans thought a two-goal lead would give them some breathing-space, their comfort disappeared within two minutes. With good link-up play, the Strikers took advantage of Pelikan being caught in possession, playing the ball wide for a defence-splitting cross to Pilic who then lobbed Knights' keeper John from 16 metres.
Brisbane must have fancied their chances to graft themselves back into the game such was their approach to the game from the very beginning, but a second yellow-card to Grierson with more than fifteen minutes to play seemed to prove an overly onerous burden. Grierson had earnt his first card just before the break for a foul on Pelikan, and transgressed again in the second with undisciplined play in a tussle with Marth near the corner-flag.
Kosmina didn't dispute the merits of the dismissal. "I think (Grierson) was frustrated in the first (card) when he gave the ball away. Then he got sucked in by Stabber (Marth) on his second one - you've got to be smart and wait your chance and stitch him up later, eh Stabber?" he said with a smile.
But Knights' banking on the win didn't take into account the class of Rech who Johns fouled inside the area deep into added time. Rech had had a quiet game by his standards, but remained sufficiently calm to net from the spot for the late, late equaliser.
Marth and Johns had collided as the ball came in, leaving Rech a clear passage to goal. Johns fouled Rech in an attempt to prevent the equaliser, preferring to concede the penalty.
"I blame (Martin) John," said Marth. "He gave me a call (for the ball at the same time) as the ball hit my head. Martin had a great game, but that's Martin."