A contest full of goals and drama ended in a stalemate as St Albans Saints came from two goals behind to grab a 3-3 draw with hosts Box Hill United.
Wembley Park was treated to some great goals and a Rinor Muriqi hat-trick, which had United 3-1 in front after 52 minutes.
Joey Monek scored in between the treble, and the youngster scored a second to pull back the deficit, before Barry Devlin headed home the equaliser with just five minutes left on the clock.
Muriqi proved the source of most good things that came from the hosts, first testing his radar over the dead ball with a bouncing effort hit straight at Alex Baird.
His corner in the ninth minute had Box Hill skipper Michael Godfrey teed up from point blank range but the skipper was unable to keep his header down to test the opposition shot-stopper.
St Albans had a brilliant chance to open the scoring after 17 minutes, but keeper Keegan Coulter was there to deny Josh Knight’s effort from the left wing, with Monek sliding the rebound onto the upright before the keeper pounced to alleviate the pressure.
The woodwork was tested once more, this time at the other end as a Muriqi corner was deflected onto the crossbar by a St Albans defender – the deadlock eventually broken by Monek in the 25th minute.
A looping cross from the left flank angled between Coulter and the challenging Monek, with the keeper opting to come off his line to meet the ball.
A strong cross wind played into the hands of Monek who got to the ball first, worked around the stranded keeper before sliding into an open net.
The game was caught in the midfield for large chunks of the first half as both sides failed to carve out clear-cut opportunities.
It took a Muriqi set-piece in first half injury time to draw level, the former Green Gully man picking out the cobwebs of the top right corner with the final kick of the term.
Confusion reigned when the hosts were awarded a contentious penalty at the resumption of play, which saw Nikola Surdoski hit the deck under the weight of a tackle, before Lucas Johns’ shot at the near post forced a good save from Baird.
While there was no real shouts for the spot kick, the referee awarded it, having allowed advantage for Johns to attempt his shot.
Muriqi was on hand to stroke home, placing the ball low to the right for his second.
A loose back pass was telegraphed straight to Monek, who carried the ball and fired a low shot to the right corner, forcing Coulter into a brilliant diving save.
Muriqi then capped off a brilliant solo performance with his hat-trick, this time from open play as he bundled home from close range to make it 3-1, marking a six minute hat-trick.
St Albans were fast slipping away, despite being given inspiration by ladder-leaders Moreland Zebras slip up against Springvale White Eagles the night prior.
Looking to capitalise on that result, they pushed forward as swingman Barry Devlin pushed forward into striker to influence the game.
He went close in the 58th minute, denied by an Adrian Del Monaco block following Josh Knight’s cross.
Box Hill were feeling the pinch and struggled to work the ball out of their defensive half – which admittedly mattered little to Muriqi, who nearly had a fourth with an audacious lob from over half way, beating Baird, but not the post as it cannoned off the upright and away to safety.
St Albans’ pressure finally told in the 72nd minute as Monek grabbed his second of the afternoon, timing a run on the line of the defence to perfection to latch onto Knight’s looping through ball, taking a touch in his stride before poking over Coulter for 3-2.
Devlin steered a 25-yard strike into the upright with 15 minutes left to play, before Michael Grgic followed in to tap in what appeared to be the equaliser – the offside flag denying the away side their third goal.
Grgic deflected a strike off his own player narrowly wide of the post before they found their equaliser on 85 minutes, Knight creating yet another goal with a perfect cross for Devlin to header home.
St Albans smelt victory, but in the end had Baird to thank for taking home a share of the spoils as the custodian made what will be a contender for save of the season, diving at full stretch to deny Del Monaco from close range from Muriqi’s free-kick.
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Match Details
Box Hill United 3 (Muriqi 45+1, 47, 52) drew with St Albans Saints (Monek 25’, 72’, Devlin 85’) at Wembley Park [HT: 1-1]
Box Hill United: 1. Keegan COULTER (GK), 12. Adrian DEL MONACO, 19. Nikola SURDOSKI, 3. JOEY CALDERONE, 5. Alex SCHROEN (11. Sebastian BARRERO 65’), 7. Caleb LUDLOW, 17. Ben OSEI-SAFO (9. Michael KARIUKI 73’), 14. Lucas JOHNS (23. Michael GERACE 90’), 10. Rinor MURIQI, 15. Kobbie BOAHENE, 25. Michael GODFREY
Unused Substitute(s): 35. Enes UNAL, Jack GOW
Yellow Card(s): Calderone 6’, Schroen 23’
Red Card(s): Nil
St Albans Saints: 1. Alex BAIRD (GK), 3. Nana Yaw OTUO-ACHEAMPONG, 4. Barry DEVLIN, 5. George TSIAKALAKIS, 6. Nicholas SARBIN (10. Michael QUINN-WALTERS 56’), 8. Andrew MILICEVIC (14. Daniel SLOVACEK 58’), 10. Josh KNIGHT, 11. Joseph MONEK, 13. Anthony BORAS, 17. Adrian BARESSI (2. Ryan McGUFFIE 56’), 16. Michael GRGIC
Unused Substitute(s): 18. Ben SHAPER, 24. Dillon IBRAHIM
Yellow Card(s): Baird 55’, Devlin 73’, Monek 81’, Slovacek 90’, Sarbin 90+3’
Red Card(s): Nil
Image: Sonia Licciardi