Brisbane Roar 1 Perth Glory 1
Mitch Nichols of the Roar celebrates after scoring.
Photo: Getty Images Substitute Henrique kept Brisbane Roar's undefeated
A-League streak intact when he set up the match-drawing goal against
lowly Perth Glory at Suncorp stadium on Friday night.
The Roar were trailing 0-1 with their record of 19 games
under serious threat when Henrique entered the match at the 59th minute
at the expense of midfielder Massimo Murdocca.
Within four minutes of joining the action, the Brazilian
stormed down the left wing and into the penalty box pursued by Glory's
Josh Mitchell.
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Robbie Fowler takes on the Roar defence.
Photo: Getty Images Henrique withstood the pressure, out-foxed Mitchell, to
centre the ball where Mitchell Nichols headed the equaliser in the 63rd
minute.
The goal brought a collective sigh of relief among Roar
fans who were rightly frustrated by a number of missed opportunities
early in the match followed by the deterioration of their defence in the
first half.
To Glory's credit, they have picked up two points on the
long road trip following a draw with Gold Coast on Monday and they made
the most of very limited opportunities.
In the end it was quality and not quantity which counted for the Glory's.
Their 31st minute goal by Mile Sterjovski was one of just
three attempts to score for the match compared to the Roar having 11
shots at goal.
Perth skipper Robbie Fowler set up the goal with a deft
cross which found his unguarded teammate front and square and just nine
metres out.
The goal was no surprise as the Glory had started to find
holes in the Roar's heralded defence in the minutes leading up to the
opening goal and continued to do so until half time.
Perth goalkeeper Tando Velaphi was also solid under
pressure late in the match when the Roar applied enormous attacking
pressure and he saved a brilliant attempt to score by Matthew Smith.
The draw kept Perth's faint finals hopes alive while the
Roar extended their undefeated streak to 20 and are 12 points clear of
second-placed Adelaide United.
BRISBANE ROAR 1 (Mitch Nichols 63m) drew
PERTH GLORY 1 (Mile Sterjovski 31m) at Suncorp Stadium. Crowd: 11,574. Referee: JarredGillett.