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A 10-man Central Coast scored in the dying seconds to salvage a 2-2 A-League draw with Perth Glory at Members Equity Stadium on Saturday night.
The Mariners looked well beaten following two second-half goals by Glory striker Nikita Rukavytsya, and even more so when defender Nigel Boogaard was sent off in injury time for a crude tackle on Adrian Trinidad.
But there was a sting in the Mariners’ tail and it came when a Dylan MacAllister shot sat perfectly for Sasho Petrovski to slot home with only seconds remaining.
The Glory players were convinced Petrovski was offside but their protests fell on deaf ears.
The draw sees the Mariners move back into fourth place, ahead of Wellington on goal difference, while Perth climb off the bottom of the ladder ahead of Newcastle, who play on Sunday.
Although Perth were probably the better side in the first half, it was the Mariners who led by one at the break and it could have been by more.
In a six-minute patch, former Glory player Adrian Caceres had two good chances to score either side of Mile Jedinak’s brilliant free kick.
Just before the 30-minute mark, John Hutchinson crossed to Caceres who was all alone to head the ball home but he struck the post.
Glory ‘keeper Tando Velaphi had no chance just a minute later when Jedinak made the most of a free kick just outside the box after a Jamie Harnwell handball.
It could have easily been 2-0 but another strike from Caceres sailed just wide.
The Glory came out a different side after halftime and appeared to do enough to set up the win.
Rukavytsya’s first came in the 62nd minute when he intercepted a wayward Mariners’ pass, outran Boogaard and coolly slotted it past Danny Vukovic.
Just seven minutes later, strike partner Eugene Dadi set him up with a deft pass in heavy traffic to see Rukavytsya nail his eighth goal of the season.
The Glory continued to dominate after that with Trinidad having the best chance to put a third on the board when he hit the post.
Perth looked sure of securing a fourth win of the season heading into injury time with Central Coast down a man, but the Petrovski goal put an end to that, and probably their hopes of a late-season revival.
Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna was not impressed with his team’s second half, but after being robbed of an equaliser last weekend against Melbourne, he took the luck that came with the late goal.
“The second half performance after they scored the first goal wasn’t good enough. We didn’t deserve that comeback, that was lucky and we were fortunate. It shows our character, though, to get that goal in the last minute,” McKinna said.
“Last week we were unlucky to not have a goal allowed, so we were lucky here and it balances out over the season.”
It was far from the first time Glory coach Dave Mitchell had seen his side blow a winning chance and he wanted the players to finally learn from it.
“It’s disappointing that it happened again. It’s not the first time this season, it happened last season and it’s something we have to rectify,” Mitchell said.
“The way we played in the second half was great, the second goal was a classic with the one-two with Eugene and Nikita.
“It becomes for nothing when we make poor mistakes, though, and everyone has to take ownership of it and the players have to learn or else we won’t get anywhere.”
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