A late free kick from Anthony Proia was enough to salvage a point for Melbourne Victory as they played Sydney FC in boiling conditions at Lakeside Stadium.
Max Burgess opened the scoring for the visitors with a spectacular 30-yard effort, only for Victory to equalise through Christopher Cristaldo.
Blake Powell then struck clinically moments after coming on before Proia’s free kick at the death saw the scoreline read 2-2 at full-time.
The match begun at a frenetic pace with both sides hitting the crossbar in the first five minutes.
Victory were the first to fashion a chance when Connor Pain was released down the left flank in space.
His square ball was met by Jesse Makarounas, who forced Sydney FC keeper Ivan Necevski into a good save, to tip the effort onto the crossbar.
It was then Christopher Naumoff’s turn as Sydney replied with an attack of their own.
The winger initially took a shot from 30-yards, forcing Victory custodian Lawrence Thomas to parry the ball away.
Sydney worked the ball back to Naumoff who had taken up a good position in the box, but his finish was a fraction too high and it clipped the crossbar on the way over.
Victory then played the goal kick out from the back, eventually freeing Cristaldo on the right flank with the winger delivering a teasing ball for Pain.
The fleet footed winger was left with a simple finish, but only succeeded in hitting the woodwork for a third time for the match.
Despite the end to end nature of the contest, the home side were still moving the ball around well with speed and intent, and they created another gilt-edged chance in the ninth minute.
After an exchange with Pain on the left wing, Jimmy Jeggo skewed his finish agonisingly wide of the upright.
Naumoff was in the midst of the action a couple of minutes later when he sent a delicious cross field ball for Alec Urosevski, with the winger smashing a shot straight at Thomas.
With a much needed drinks break splitting up the half, it was scarcely believable that the scoreline was still 0-0 given the barnstorming start to the match.
Sydney FC came out with a bang following the refreshments, with Burgess picking out the top corner with a howitzer from 30-yards that gave Thomas absolutely no chance.
Victory regrouped following the setback, but lacked the intensity that the electric start had promised.
They did however have a series of chances in the last five minutes before half-time, which brought the best out of Necevski.
In a typical Victory attack, Pain ran down the left before crossing for Cristaldo, but while the diminutive forward thought he’d scored, Necevski somehow diverted the ball over the crossbar as the ball squeezed under his body.
The resulting corner ended in a goalmouth scramble, and the Sydney keeper was there again to block on the line and frustrate Victory even further.
Towering centre-back Milos Ridesic then got his head onto a free-kick in stoppage time, but found the same obstacle in front of goal.
That series of great saves saw Sydney FC survive until the break with a lead well and truly against the run of play.
Victory came out in the second half and picked up where they left off, getting on the scoresheet within ten minutes through Cristaldo’s effort.
Jimmy Jeggo played a lovely ball over the top of Sydney FC’s defence, teasing Necevski off his line in the process.
This time the Sydney keeper was beaten to the ball by Cristaldo, as he rounded him and tapped the ball in for the equaliser.
With the visitors in danger of losing their grip on the contest, Sydney coach Steve Corica sent on Terry Antonis and he made an immediate impact.
The midfielder first had a goal bound curling effort brilliantly saved by Thomas, then sent a through ball for Powell who had the simple task of putting the ball past the keeper to made it 2-1.
It was perhaps a bit harsh on Victory who had dominated spells of the contest for little reward.
They did manage to grab a point late on however, when Proia stepped up to take a free-kick just outside the box.
His shot curled low and around the wall passing Necevski who would’ve been disappointed to have been beaten on his near side, especially after his performance on the day.
Sydney still managed to give Victory a couple of big scares late on, firstly through Thomas, who failed to hold onto a Mitch Mallia shot at the first attempt, and when Antonis curled a free kick just over the crossbar with the keeper beaten.
In the end the draw was a just result in the top of the table clash, although unfortunately for Victory it wasn’t enough to keep them in second place.
Team Lineups:
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Substitutes:
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Substitutions:
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Scorers:
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