Central Coast was again forced to come behind with a spectacular late strike from second half replacement Andre Gumprecht earning the Mariners a 1-1 Hyundai A-League draw with Queensland at Gosford on Saturday night.
The Roar looked on course for a deserved victory after striker Sergio van Dijk fired the visitors in front with a brilliant left foot drive from all of 30 metres in the 11th minute.
The goal looked likely to propel Queensland to another away win but the never-say-die Mariners came home strongly, creating several chances in a frantic final 15 minutes.
Gumprecht, who came on in the 54th minute, added plenty of spark to the home side. He fired home a low drive after the Roar failed to clear a Central Coast freekick with seven minutes remaining.
It was Gumprecht’s first goal of a season interrupted by injury and one of his most important strikes for the club.
Apart from the two well taken goals the match failed to live up to pre-game expectations.
Two of the best attacking teams in the competition struggled for long periods.
The Mariners were well below their best in the first stanza, while the Roar had the bulk of the ball but rarely tested Vukovic.
Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna made changes in the second half and the move paid off. Gumprecht made a huge difference, as did striker Nike Mrdja.
It was a nail-biting end with the home side coming agonisingly close to snatching a dramatic victory.
John Hutchinson had a long range left foot strike just miss, while Mrdja and Dylan Macallister also had chances. In the final seconds Queensland captain Craig Moore was forced to clear the ball with Mrdja ready to unleash a shot on goal.
Central Coast 1 (Gumprecht 83′)
Queensland 1 (van Dijk11′)
Crowd 8995 at Gosford
