TOP seeds in the OFC Pro League battled to a 1-01 draw at Olympic Park, Melbourne.
It was a very slow start with South Melbourne and Auckland FC unwilling to make mistakes.
Jordon Lampard and Jordan Swibel led the charge for South Melbourne, making a real impact from just outside the box.
Captain Marco Jankovic was relentless in defence for South Melbourne. He was up close and personal each time he challenged the Auckland FC attackers. Thomas Giannakopoulos was always lurking behind every turnover ball waiting to pounce at the right time.
South Melbourne had the early momentum, raining shots from all angles, but just couldn’t score.
Auckland FC goalkeeper, Oscar Mason, was on high alert and played a brilliant match.
After a scoreless first spell, Auckland FC fought for more possession with Liam Gillion leading the charge. South Melbourne found themselves on the back foot, desperately defending in their own box.
South Melbourne picked up the pace once more with the home crowd roaring them on.
But a quick turnover by Auckland deep within their half in the 87th minute saw Gillion score what might be the best goal of the tournament. He ran fast and hard to edge the South Melbourne defence along the near sideline before bursting between the last two defenders. He struck the ball low and hard to beat the goalkeeper Javi Diaz Lopez. It was a magnificent solo effort.
However, a corner kick in the injury time saw South Melbourne score a goal from a header by Jacob Eliopoulos.