Avondale salvage late point against Port Melbourne

Avondale have come from behind to snag a a point in a 1-1 draw with the Port Melbourne Sharks last Friday night.

Charlie Beverley’s equaliser in the 84th minute brought Avondale level late, cancelling out a first-half goal from Port’s Kristopher Kioussis and salvaging a draw.

Despite sitting eighth on the table the Sharks were the better of the two sides early on, controlling possession and dictating play. The home side capitalised on their good start when Kioussis gave Port the lead, volleying the ball home after Avondale failed to clear a cross.

Trailing by a goal, Avondale were slowly able to work their way into the game and soon they were creating opportunities on goal.

The Avengers had a great chance to draw level early in the second half after Port gave away an indirect free kick for a back pass to the goalkeeper, but the Sharks did well to block Avondale‘s three goal-bound shots.
With 10 minutes to go, head coach Zoran Markovski turned to his bench amidst the search for an equaliser, bringing on Beverley and throwing him up front.

It was a decision that paid off just four minutes later when Beverley got the vital touch to scramble the ball over the line after a corner and bring Avondale level.

But only seconds after the equaliser the Sharks had a golden chance to snatch the lead back. The league’s leading goalscorer Chris Duggan was through on goal, but goalkeeper Rory Brian made a massive one-on-one save to keep his side level.

The draw sees Avondale extend their undefeated run to six games in all competitions. The Avengers sit second on the table, three points behind league leaders South Melbourne. Their next game is against the Dandenong Thunder at Avenger Park this Saturday at 3:00pm.

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