Melbourne City 2 Newcastle Jets 2: Enthralling draw a boost for leaders Sydney
Sydney FC can open up a nine-point advantage at the A-League summit following Newcastle Jets' draw against Melbourne City.
Newcastle Jets were held to an enthralling 2-2 draw by Melbourne City, giving Sydney FC a chance to extend their lead at the A-League summit.
The second-placed Jets twice surrendered their lead and required a 94th-minute goal-line clearance from Steven Ugarkovic to stop Ross McCormack claiming all three points for the hosts at AAMI Park.
City remain four points adrift of Newcastle as a result, while Sydney could go nine clear at the top with a win at Melbourne Victory on Friday.
The visitors were ahead inside three minutes when Nikolai Topor-Stanley headed Patricio Rodriguez's free-kick into the top-left corner, but City were level before half-time. Daniel Georgievski fouled Stefan Mauk inside the box and Daniel Arzani converted a 43rd-minute penalty.
Luke Brattan hit the bar for City before Jason Hoffman restored the Jets' lead by turning home a rebound, but Dario Vidosic levelled with a back-post header eight minutes from time.
City would have completed a dramatic turnaround in stoppage time had McCormack's lob over Jack Duncan not been cleared off the line by the recovering Ugarkovic, ensuring the spoils were shared.
FT | City 2-2 NewcastleA chance cleared off the line in the final minute almost saw us take the win but it wasn't to be as we settle for a point. January 25, 2018
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