Sydney FC fend off Brisbane Roar with late ALM equalizer
Alex Parsons secured a 1-1 draw for Sydney FC, breaking the hearts of his former A-League men’s side Brisbane Roar with a skillful stoppage-time goal at the Allianz Stadium.
The Sky Blues (7-3-7) looked to lose valuable points at home as they fell behind in the first half and then suffered more pain at the penalty spot until Parsons secured the point with a late goal.
The ball fell nicely into the box for 23-year-old Parsons to equalize in the 94th minute after Roar’s determined defense against several late attacks on Saturday.
The Roar (3-8-6) took the lead against the run of play with Nikola Mileusnic’s 34th-minute goal that would start a six-game winning streak until her former teammate’s late intervention.
The opener came after the Sky Blues controlled much of the territory and pace in the first half without really testing Jordan Holmes in the Roar goal.
Brisbane midfielder Joe Knowles collected the ball on the right side and then sent a sharp cross into the deep left side of the box for Nikola Mileusnic to run onto.
The Roar forward brought the ball down confidently and quickly unleashed a powerful punch that Andrew Redmayne could only watch as it sped past him and blasted the near post into the top left corner.
It was the second time Mileusnic had been included in the goalscoring chart in a season that has seen Roar struggle to score.
But it took another failed penalty from Sydney FC – their fifth penalty in six shootouts this season – for the visitors to maintain their lead.
The hosts had pressed hard for the equalizer in the second half and their hopes were buoyed when Roar left-back Jordan Courtney-Perkins raised an arm to block a strike from Joe Lolley in the box.
Lolley stepped forward to take the penalty, but his flat shot to the right was too soft to hit Holmes.
The Roar keeper almost gave the Sky Blues the equalizer and their youngster Patrick Yazbek a parting gift when he fumbled a ball that was aimed straight at him but was only able to catch it before it crossed the line.
The hosts had several more chances to equalize in Rhyan Grant’s 250th A-League men’s game, but it took Parsons’ late goal to eke out at least a point.
Robbie Kruse’s return was a bonus for Brisbane despite the late goal. The former Socceroo came on in the 83rd minute for his first cap for the club since leaving for an extended stay overseas in 2009.
