https://youtu.be/wxF873C2qCg
A stoppage-time equaliser from Miles Barnard saved the Devonport Strikers from a shock loss, but they still dropped their first points of the season with a 1-1 draw against the Kingborough Lions.
The Lions took an early lead at Lightwood Park through Chris Downes, and they defended that lead right up until the dying moments of the game. After dominating the possession for most of the day, it took a 91st-minute corner for the Strikers to break through as Barnard rose at the back post and nodded home. While they stole a point late and the Lions took a result against the league's runaway leaders, the circumstances of the game left both teams visibly flat at the final whistle.
Both teams started tentatively from the kickoff and looked to move the ball slowly, but the opening goal came seemingly from nothing and inside the first ten minutes. A free kick from Downes on the left was curled to the penalty spot, tempting his forwards to make a run to meet it. Danny Cowen swung and missed but so too did the Strikers defence, leaving the ball to bounce in the penalty area and somehow beat Devonport gloveman Nathan Pitchford.
From there the Strikers settled into their trademark style of possession-heavy football, but they suddenly found themselves chasing the game for the first time all season. Still, there were no signs of panic as they built slowly from the back and saw some promising forward moves as a result. As is so often the case, Joel Stone looked to be the biggest threat with the ball at his feet, but his early attempts to both shoot on goal and set up others were snuffed out by Lee Mackie in the Lions goal. Devonport did plenty of attacking from the wings, but Mackie and Cowen controlled the airspace all day in an impressive display of defensive judgement.
The Strikers had the bulk of the chances, with Kingborough largely limited to attacking on the counter. Still, their central defensive pairing of Cowen and Luke Bighin kept things tight at the back to take them into the break with their lead intact. They looked to be under even greater pressure as the second half started, though, as the Strikers began to press with more vigour in search of an equaliser. Mackie continued to stand up under that pressure, constantly attacking the ball even after a collision that left both he and Miles Barnard looking a little worse for wear. Eddie Bidwell went close early in the half with a long-range strike that drifted a little high, while Connor Parke looked to have headed into an open net until Cowen sprung up to clear from on the goal-line.
It became more and more of a struggle, but still the Lions hung on into the final 15 minutes. Time and time again in the last stanza the Strikers looked certain to score as they lined up chance after chance. Substitute Jordan Payne headed wide and then was denied by Mackie, Daniel Syson fluffed a one-on-one contest, and Barnard and Stone both sent shots over the crossbar.
Those close calls had the home crowd at Lightwood Park on edge, but what came next left them and their team demoralised. The Strikers won a corner, their ninth of the game, as the clock ticked into stoppage time. It was swung high and deep to the back post, where Barnard emerged from a scrum of players to head home from close range and draw the visitors level. Both teams pressed hard for a winner in an end-to-end finale, but neither could break through as the game ended in a stalemate that was especially stale for both sides. Still, the Lions became the first side to take a result from the Strikers and should take plenty of confidence into their trip to Launceston City next week. The Strikers, meanwhile, will still hold a four-point lead at a minimum heading into their clash with a resurgent South Hobart.