A long-range strike from Jordi Valadon helped a spirited Melbourne Victory come from a goal down to secure a 1-1 draw with Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon.
The game was turned on its head in the 10th minute of the contest when Victory right-back Harry Shillington was sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity after scything down Mariners winger Ali Auglah.
While the on-field referee waved play-on when the incident occurred, a subsequent VAR review showed Auglah was clearly taken out by Shillington, leaving referee Jonathan Barreiro with little choice but to show the 21-year-old a straight red card.
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From the subsequent free kick, Auglah forced Jack Duncan into a good save.
Thereafter the Mariners struggled to break down a disciplined, hard-running Victory defence.
Striker Charles Nduka unsuccessfully appealed for a penalty at one end and in the 63rd minute the Mariners transitioned the ball up the other end in a flash.
Auglah let rip with a terrific long ball which bounced and sat up perfectly for speedy Mariners striker Oli Lavale to pounce and rifle home a wonderful half-volley.
The striker ran to taunt Victory’s active fans in his celebration.
But Lavale’s joy was short lived as Victory equalised just six minutes later.
Nduka worked the ball back to Valadon just outside the box and the midfielder let rip with a scintillating strike that ripped past Andrew Redmayne and into the opposite top corner via a slight deflection off the shoulder of Lucas Mauragis.
Victory defender Philipp Ziereis and Lavale were both booked after a sideline wrestle that threatened to boil over into a full melee had coaches from both teams not intervened.
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In the 82nd minute, Victory defender Franco Lino forced Redmayne into a terrific save with a powerful low strike.
At the other end, Duncan was called into action to deny Chris Donnell.
Nduka fired over the bar late, while Mariners substitute Arthur De Lima’s attempted overhead kick was comfortably saved by Duncan.
While Victory will certainly be the happier of the two sides with the result, the draw means both the Mariners and Melbourne Victory are still yet to win a game this A-League Men season.
Victory play Persib in the ACL2 at AAMI Park on Wednesday, then travel to face Adelaide at Coopers Stadium on Sunday, while John Hutchinson’s Mariners play Sydney FC on Friday.
