Adam Taggart added a silver lining to a largely frustrating Brisbane Roar debut as his second-half equaliser rescued a 1-1 home draw with Central Coast Mariners on Sunday.
An off-season recruit from Perth Glory, the seven-time Caltex Socceroos striker squandered several glorious chances before sealing a share of the points in the 65th minute of an engaging contest at Suncorp Stadium.
Connor Pain had stunned the hosts with a fourth-minute opener but, on Mike Mulvey’s return to Queensland, the new Mariners boss was forced to be content with a handy result in his first match in charge.
65' | GOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!! @adamtaggart22 has his first goal in #BRFC orange! #BRIvCCM #RoarAsOne pic.twitter.com/SS90JFjUeT
— Brisbane Roar (@brisbaneroar) October 21, 2018
Mulvey’s dream start against the club he delivered Grand Final success in 2014 came courtesy of a blistering counter-attacked capped by Pain’s tidy finish along a greasy surface.
Brisbane set about retrieving the deficit with Taggart passing up several opportunities bfore half-time, the best an inexplicably wayward finish from Tobias Mikkelsen’s cushioned touch in the box.
He was almost made to pay amid the wastefulness as Pain saw a curling effort deflect off Connor O’Toole, against the far post and across the face of goal.
Taggart’s frustration initially failed to subside after the interval with Ben Kennedy keeping out a point-blank header and a tight offside call going against him.
But relief finally arrived just beyond the hour as the 25-year-old former Golden Boot winner swivelled on a mishit Stefan Mauk attempt and rifled Roar back to level terms.
Tommy Oar and Eric Bautheac threatened to conjure a winner as the entertainment amped up in the closing moments, but both defences stood tall to leave the Round 1 clash all square.
