A last-ditch Alistair Quinn equaliser has helped Brisbane Roar force a thrilling 1-1 draw with Adelaide United amid much uncertainty in Sunday’s National Youth League clash at Burton Park.
Striker Evan Kostopoulos’ goal in the 16th minute put the Baby Reds in front, a lead they maintained for more than 75 minutes.
Despite further solid chances for United going begging, the home side looked to have done enough to secure their third victory of the season – and what have been their second in as many encounters with the high-flying Roar in 2011-12.
But their hard work was undone when Brisbane substitute Quinn found the back of the net in the fourth minute of injury time.
The Roar’s celebrations were relatively muted and the scoreboard unchanged – still showing Adelaide leading 1-0 – which created some confusion when referee Christian Verriccio blew his whistle for full-time.
It was assumed Quinn’s goal had been disallowed, despite the offside flag not being raised and in the end several spectators departed assuming the Reds had got up when in fact the two camps earned one point apiece.
Teeboy Kamara set the home side in motion early with an exhilarating coast-to-coast solo run in the fifth minute, that finished with the west African slamming the ball right at Brisbane custodian Andrew Redmayne, who did well to parry it out of harm’s way.
A minute later at the other end, Qantas Young Socceroo Under-20 rep Corey Brown whipped a close-range hit straight into Adelaide keeper Mark Birighitti’s breadbasket for the Roar’s first real opportunity.
True to form, Brisbane dominated possession around the park, with the considered and crafty ball use of the likes of Ken Dougall, skipper Chris Bush and Jack Hingert notable.
A rare United forward foray in the 14th minute saw Kamara’s rifled shot sail just wide, but two minutes later the diminutive striker went from finisher to playmaker as the Reds got on the board.
Kamara’s chipped cross found Kostopoulos, who had Brown manhandling him in the box.
The referee’s whistle was not forthcoming but it didn’t matter as the 21-year-old, halfway to the ground, got enough boot to ball to poke the ball past Redmayne in the 16th minute.
The goal went against the flow of the contest, which largely comprised a lot of Brisbane possession.
Again against the trend, Adelaide came close to making it No.2 in the 32nd minute when Kamara was brought down by Dougall just outside the 18-yard box.
Kamara limped off after appearing to injure his left leg in the incident, before Kostopolous’ resultant curled free kick was safely pouched by Redmayne.
Adelaide was looking the more dangerous side in their infrequent attacking thrusts as they led 1-0 at the half, compared to the Roar’s overall dominance across the other two thirds of the park.
Neither side was able to muster any real ascendancy after the half-time interval.
Anthony Trimboli, who subbed on for Kamara in the 35th minute, came close to scoring in the 58th minute, before Kostopoulos, after a good pass from Ian Kamau, was denied a golden opportunity to nail his and the team’s second in the 70th minute by a magnificent Redmayne save.
A minute later, after the resultant United corner, Allan Welsh’s volleyed attempt, with Redmayne caught out of position, floated agonisingly wide to the right.
Roar striker George Lambadaridis came perilously close to equalising in the 84th minute when he earned a free kick, but his set shot was fractionally high, as was over-age defender Matt Mundy’s nodded attempt two minutes later.
Kamay and Dion Kirk were both denied in the 89th minute by consecutive wonderful saves by former Central Coast gloveman Redmayne, who was kept busy all afternoon.
Then the visitors, amid considerable confusion, stole a point at the death when Quinn pounced on a deflected loose ball which wasn’t properly cleared by Adelaide’s defenders and bunted it past Birighitti deep into injury time.
Adelaide United 1 (Kostopoulos 16)
Brisbane Roar 1 (Quinn 90)
@ Burton Park, 8/1/2012
