So often the victims of late goals, Central Coast have scored late themselves against Melbourne Victory to pinch an Isuzu UTE A-League point despite being dominated on their home deck.
In-form Nick D’Agostino struck to deliver the Victory a lead but that was cancelled out six minutes from time when Mariners substitute Nicolai Muller bobbed up to square the match at 1-1.
Only a masterful display from Mariners keeper Mark Birighitti allowed them to hang on for the draw, with the in-form custodian making a number of stunning stops to keep Victory at bay at Central Coast Stadium.
The Mariners started on the front foot and could have led early when Victory keeper Ivan Kelava was caught out by a long ball that required another defender to intervene and deny Jason Cummings an open goal.
Victory took a while to get going but announced themselves on 20 minutes via a Marco Rojas curling effort that needed saving by Birighitti.
Clearly his side’s best player, Birighitti was called upon again from the subsequent corner to claw out a powerful header, while he used his leg to deny Ben Folami soon after after a delightful Rojas ball put him through.
Birighitti’s masterclass continued after the break with another strong leg save denying Rojas on 62 minutes, with Victory unable to score again despite their dominance.
Indeed, during this period, Tony Popovic brought on Socceroos internationals Robbie Kruse and Chris Ikonomidis; Italian striker Francesco Margiotta and young gun Nishan Velupillay.
Yet, despite that embarrassment of riches off the bench, it was Mariners boss Montgomery who played the trump card off the bench, thanks to Muller.
The Mariners had few chances of real note until Joshua Nisbet’s delightful cross for Marco Urena 10 minutes from time, but the Costa Rican’s diving header missed the target from close range.
But a long ball into the Victory box created a scramble and Müller bashed it past Kelava to level the score on 84 minutes.
The Mariners almost stole all three points in the 94th minute with an Ollie Bozanic shot headed for the net before it took a deflection.
The result left Victory querying an early flashpoint moment shortly after the half-hour that saw Mariner defender Lewis Miller, already on a yellow card, crunch Folami.
But referee Stephen Lucas opted against issuing a second ticket even after pulling the card out of his pocket.
The late goal denied the Victory a third win against the Mariners in 2022, having beaten them in the league regular season and in the FFA Cup final.
