A late comeback from 10-man Cockburn City saw them drawing 2-2 with Stirling Lions at Dalmatinac Park on Saturday. The Lions dominated possession and chances, but Cockburn produced a late performance to salvage the point.

The match opened in high tempo, with both sides seeming aggressive and determined to win.

But it was the Lions who were one up after just six minutes, when Cockburn defender Andrew Godfrey somehow managed to put a cross from the left into his own net.

The Lions continued to pressure after the early goal and got their reward in the 12th minute. Striker Phil Arnold slotted home the second from inside the penalty area after lacklustre defending by the Cockburn defence.

After the second goal, the Lions seemed in total control of the game. Resolute defending from Captain Darko Ilomanoski and Michael Pugliese left a frustrated Cockburn side attempting long range efforts. 

Matters were made worse for Cockburn in the 32nd minute, when Shane McNally was sent off for foul language.

The Lions continued to pressure until the end of the half with big chances falling to Steve Porter and Mark Redshaw, but the score remained 0-2 at half time.

The first big chance in the second half fell to Arnold in the 53rd minute, but Cockburn goalie Dejan Aleksic made a stunning save. Minutes later Redshaw showed neat footwork and good balance to dribble past two defenders, but his shot hit the crossbar.
 

In the 61st minute Arnold was forced to leave the pitch with an injury, following a stern tackle. This was a blow for the Lions as Arnold had created all sorts of trouble for the Cockburn defence with his pace and stellar technique.

With the Lions seemingly in control, Cockburn managed to pull one back in the 81st minute. Dom De Felice popped up to apply the finishing touches to a well crafted Cockburn move.

A minute later substitute Gio De Bartolo almost scored the equaliser, but the ball whiskered over the crossbar.

But in the 85th minute the score was levelled when De Bartolo made amends to cap another good move by Cockburn with a cool finish past goalie Phil Straker.

The crowd saw a highly dramatic finish to the match with chances falling to both teams, but it ended 2-2.

Stirling Lions coach Michael Lyons was not happy with the draw.
 “2-0 is a strange score. When it’s 2-0 you need another one to finish them off. We didn’t manage that.
“To be honest, we were by far the better side. But, we didn’t get the points, which we should have. We just have to work harder,” he said.

Cockburn City coach Mirko Jelicic admitted his side were fortunate.
“We were happy with the point, but overall our performance wasn’t good enough. If you look at the 90 minutes, the Lions have probably deserved the three points.
“But I can’t bag the players for their effort. It’s hard to play with ten men. So, for their effort, they’ve deserved a point,” Jelicic said.

Peder Qvale