A moment of madness in the fifth minute of stoppage time saw Auckland FC snatch a 1-1 draw against Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval.
The match sparked into life on 10 minutes and the visitors almost scored first when Jesse Randall attempted to lob Harrison 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 Michael 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 half-time 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.
The pressure finally paid off through an unlikely hero in the 84th minute when Alexandar Popovic rose unmarked to meet a Piero Quispe cross from six yards out. He flicked it into the bottom corner past the helpless Woud, and after a lengthy VAR check for offside the goal was confirmed.
But just as Sydney seemed destined for victory, Auckland somehow forced an equaliser to snatch a point on the road. A long ball into the Sydney box led to a smart Devenish-Meares save from a Nando Pijnaker header, but the ensuing clearance from Jordan Courtney-Perkins was smashed straight into Alex Grant, who knew nothing about it, before it ricocheted into the hosts’ net to confirm the 1-1 draw.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT THEY SAID
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos discusses his side’s performance against Auckland FC
Michael Woud reflects on his and Auckland FC’s performance against Sydney FC
Alexandar Popovic speaks after scoring his first goal for Sydney FC
Auckland FC boss Steve Corica reflects on his side’s hard-fought point against Sydney FC
Ufuk Talay analyses Sydney FC’s draw with Auckland FC
