A-League Review: Late drama in Melbourne derby as Phoenix soar
Wellington Phoenix hammered Brisbane Roar before Melbourne City snatched a derby-day draw, with Dario Vidosic their stoppage-time saviour.
Dario Vidosic headed a stoppage-time equaliser as Melbourne City snatched a 1-1 draw against Melbourne Victory in the derby at AAMI Park.
Victory made most of the early running despite being without key midfielder Keisuke Honda but should have been behind at the interval as Ritchie de Laet sent a free header straight at goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas and Lachlan Wales botched a one-on-one opportunity.
Kevin Muscat's side hit the front 10 minutes into the second half, with an unmarked Ola Toivonen on hand to volley home Kosta Barbarouses' centre.
But Vidosic provided a late twist, converting a floated cross from City captain Scott Jamieson following a driving run forward from Riley McGree.
SCENES! nets the 92nd-minute equaliser. December 22, 2018
It denied Victory a seventh consecutive win and top spot, with Perth Glory a point ahead at the A-League summit, while City edge above Wellington Phoenix on goal difference into fourth despite the latter's resounding 4-1 win over Brisbane Roar.
Henrique provided a crisp finish in first-half injury time to level for Brisbane after Avraam Papadopoulos diverted Tom Doyle's long throw into his own net.
Wellington had to wait until 15 minutes from time to regain the lead but a brilliant strike by substitute David Williams preceded Roy Krishna's penalty before Sarpreet Singh completed the rout.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Brisbane have now lost four in a row and are second bottom above the winless Central Coast Mariners.
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw
‘This is the hardest Manchester derby to call in years – Manchester United shouldn’t be petrified, it feels like Manchester City aren’t in control of any game at the moment’ Former Red Devils striker thinks a surprise result could be possible