Melbourne Victory produced a fine comeback to earn a 3-3 draw against the Brisbane Roar in the Foxtel Y-League on Sunday.
After falling 3-0 behind at Epping Stadium following goals from Kai Trewin, Bryce Bafford and Tyson Martin, Victory rallied.
Christian Theoharous struck from the penalty spot before half-time and second-half goals from Josh Hope and Nicholas Sette saw Victory complete its comeback, extending its unbeaten run to three matches.
Victory head coach Gareth Naven was pleased with his team’s second-half performance.
“The second half we had a lot better attitude, a lot better application. It had nothing to do with strategy,” he said.
“It’s about the pure desire to play your role within a team. I thought that was the difference between the first half and the second half and we were probably unlucky not to pinch it.
“No team can give three goals away and come back so, I say to our boys, ‘why do it?’ Get more attuned to understanding your role because it’s OK to play your role.
“I’m not talking about scoring goals, I’m talking about what does a full-back need to achieve in the moments of the game. I need to press people, I need to win tackles, I need to win headers, I need to play the ball to someone who’s free.
“It’s the individual perspective which contributes to the team and it’s so important for these players to understand.
“In the second half, I looked out on the field and I couldn’t pick an outstanding player and that’s important because it means everyone is contributing.
“If we can do more of those 45 minutes we achieved in the second half, I think it makes them better.”
While Victory made a decent start, Roar took the lead through Trewin, who side-footed in a set-piece from close range.
After Hope – on his 20th birthday – curled an effort just wide for Victory, Brisbane doubled its lead.
A neat move down the left led to Mirza Muratovic dummying a cross for Bafford, who put his strike into the bottom corner.
Victory failed to deal with another set-piece seven minutes before the break and Martin fired in a finish via the underside of the crossbar.
But the host would pull one back prior to the interval, Theoharous sending Roar goalkeeper Macklin Freke the wrong way from the penalty spot after being brought down in the area.
Victory dominated the second half, although goalkeeper Matthew Sutton was forced into good saves by Muratovic and Lleyton Brooks.
A nice touch and finish by Hope pulled a goal back for Victory before Sette made it 3-3 with a good strike from an angle after Pierce Waring’s pass.
Foxtel Y-League 2017/18 Round 7
Melbourne Victory 3 (Christian Theoharous 43′ pen, Josh Hope 77′,
Nicholas Sette 87′)
Brisbane Roar 3 (Kai Trewin 18′, Bryce Bafford 28′, Tyson Martin 39′)
