Adelaide United 1 Melbourne Victory 1: Late drama sees spoils shared

17 October 2014 13:35

Fahid Ben Khalfallah rescued a last-gasp point for Melbourne Victory as they snatched a 1-1 A-League draw with Adelaide United.

The hosts largely dominated the game in front of a healthy 31,124 crowd inside the Adelaide Oval, but found Nathan Coe in fine form between Victory’s posts.

However, they kept at it and eventually found a breakthrough as Cirio curled home a superb effort five minutes from time.

But Melbourne, who opened their campaign with a 4-1 win over AFC Champions League finalists Western Sydney Wanderers, fired back, with Ben Khalfallah prodding Gui Finkler’s corner past Eugene Galekovic just three minutes later.

Nigel Boogaard then Cirio passed up good chances to score in a scrappy first half, which may have frustrated Adelaide coach Josep Gombau.

The Spaniard’s lament may have boiled over as he and Melbourne counterpart Kevin Muscat routinely squabbled on the touchline, though both bosses ultimately had to settle for a draw.

The fight shown by victory will have buoyed Muscat though, with a first clash against their rebranded neighbours – Melbourne City – to come next week.