Third-ranked Gold Coast United drew 1-1 away with eighth-placed Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium tonight.
Adelaide United dominated the match in terms of possession (60 per cent to 40 per cent) but did not score the equaliser until the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the match.
The home side had gone three games and 297 minutes without scoring and coach Aurelio Vidmar may well have saved his job when his side notched that late equaliser.
Adelaide, the only A-League side to have qualified for three Asian Champions League tournaments, have scored a mere 12 goals this season, the lowest tally in the competition.
The attendance was 9,578. This is the first time this season that the attendance has been below 10,000 in Adelaide.
The match had two controversial incidents.
In the 33rd minute, Gold Coast had Kristian Rees, the last defender, sent off after he was adjudged to have fouled Matthew Leckie just outside the box.
Television replays showed Rees had a hand slightly over Leckie’s shoulder before the attacker went down, but Rees seemed to win the ball fairly and the contact appeared minimal.
In the 46th minute, Gold Coast’s Zac Anderson should have been sent off when he was the last defender and blatantly brought down Leckie, but referee Chris Beath only brandished the yellow card.
Gold Coast took the lead against the odds in the 64th minute when Zenon Caravella’s left-wing cross found Steve Fitzsimmons, who headed home.
Three minutes into stoppage time at the end of the match, Leckie was finally rewarded for his fine game when he equalised with a low drive from 20 metres.
Adelaide moved up a place to seventh on goal-difference as a result of the draw.
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