Wellington Phoenix and Perth Glory produced a frantic final twenty minutes of action in drawing 1-1 at Westpac Stadium on 8 November, the outcome of this largely sterile showdown enough to maintain their respective sixth and fifth placings on the Hyundai A-League table at the competition's midway point. Taking on opponents who were playing their third game in eight days, Perth enjoyed the better of the very cagey early exchanges, although it was Wellington who created the game's first opportunity of note, in the 21st minute. Tony Lochhead sought out Paul Ifill with an angled ball, but Chris Coyne intervened, only to direct the ball straight to Costa Barbarouses. With just Tando Velaphi to beat, and Ifill completely unmarked to his right, the youngster went for glory, only to curl his shot past the post from the edge of the penalty area. Five minutes later, Perth's first chance of note owed much to Vince Lia being caught in possession by the busy Jacob Burns. His pass put Mile Sterjovski in on the right, but the striker's effort on goal had all the hallmarks of a pass-back to the 'keeper, much to Reece Crowther's relief. The visitors were counter-attacking well - a couple of timely interventions from both Andrew Durante and Lia prevented Perth from fully exposing Wellington's nerves at vital moments - in a match being played with feeling aplenty, a fact evidenced by the plentiful off-the-ball goings-on taking place across the park. It was all too much for debutant referee Matthew Gillett to cope with. His, it must be said, was not the most memorable display of officiating the A-League has ever witnessed, marred as it was by inconsistency and inflexibility - a willingness to all too often adhere to the letter of the law, when applying a tad more man-management would have benefited all-comers. He will learn from this performance. Twelve minutes before half-time, the game's third attack of note materialised through the efforts of Barbarouses down Wellington's left. He sped past two opponents to the by-line, only for his cross to be partially cleared to Chris Greenacre, who evaded a couple of challenges before clipping a cross inches over the head of the incoming Tim Brown. Perth struck back five minutes before the break with a delightful move, by far the most enterprising football witnessed during a decidedly sterile opening half. Andy Todd - he had a super game - was involved three times as the visitors stormed downfield before the central defender picked out Todd Howarth down the left. His low cross, intended for Branko Jelic, was smothered at his feet by Crowther, who was relieved to see a glancing header from the striker flash past his far post two minutes later, Wayne Srhoj and Howarth having combined to create this opening. After Barbarouses had made a pig's ear of a three-on-one opportunity - his under-hit pass to Greenacre allowed Todd to step in and clear - Perth twice went close in stoppage time. Sterjovski, on receipt of an Adriano Pellegrino cross, volleyed inches over the crossbar, while seconds later Burns, the beneficiary of a pull-back by Howarth, lashed a twenty yarder against the crossbar, which was still reverberating when the half-time whistle blew. The second half continued in much the same mind-numbing fashion which had been witnessed throughout the majority of the first half, the game by now threatening to succeed watching Everton as an alternative cure for insomnia, so great was the need for inspiration and initiative in this most insipid of engagements. Daniel provided a brief glimmer of hope midst the many mundane moments in the match just before the hour mark. Todd headed out an Ifill cross to the Brazilian, who controlled the ball before flicking it over the head of an opponent, running around him and cracking a thumping thirty yard volley goalwards as the sphere dropped. Velaphi was right behind the shot, but was looking on with relief in the 63rd minute when Andrew Durante - a solid performance - directed his header of an Ifill cross past the far post.

Come the 68th minute, the torpor was tossed aside by that most magical of moments which every game, no matter its importance, cries out for - a goal! It materialised from nothing - an infringement which less literal interpreters of the Laws of the Game would have allowed to go unpunished. Referee Gillett - God help us all if he's related to the Liverpool FC owner! - awarded Perth a free-kick, however, and from it, Srhoj and Pellegrino contrived a means of kick-starting this match into life, the former unleashing a twenty-five yarder over both the defensive wall and 'keeper Crowther - a fine strike which silenced Wellington's Yellow Fever faithful, all 6,930 of them in attendance on this occasion. "Goals change games", the saying goes. Ain't that the truth! Because from the most sterile, uninspiring and, frankly, downright boring spectacle, this A-League encounter suddenly exploded into life, seventy minutes of sobriety being replaced by a pulsating final twenty minutes of attack-laden action, as Wellington's pursuit of at least an equaliser, if not more, took on a life of its own. The home team, urged on by their fans, took on all the attributes of an express train as the minutes counted down towards full-time, their sluggish progress along the track having been usurped by a sudden tornado-like urgency to reach their destination, upon receipt of the signal to do so. Perth's defence fended off attacks from all angles as Wellington pounded away in search of an equaliser, which finally materialised eight minutes from time. The introduction of Leo Bertos had added a totally new dimension to the home team's play, and it was fitting that he was the catalyst for the leveller. Picked out by Lochhead, the substitute split Perth's defence with a peach of a pass into the penalty area. Fellow replacement Adrian Caceres evaded a challenge before letting fly, only for his shot to be blocked. Ifill was following in, however - 1-1. And they weren't finished yet, their new-found attacking energy driving Wellington on in pursuit of all three points. Caceres careered down the left, only to whip in a cross over the head of all-comers, to which Perth responded with a raid of their own, Jelic playing in Sterjovski at the business end of the counter-attack. The striker should have done better with just Crowther to beat. Back came Wellington, Bertos conducting the orchestra. His 88th minute cross picked out Ben Sigmund, who headed the ball across for Brown, only for Srhoj to thwart the midfielder at close quarters. Seconds later, another Bertos-led raid culminated in Troy Hearfield's twenty-yarder being smothered by Velaphi. He cleared the ball to Scott Neville, whose ball forward was flicked on by Sterjovski for Jelic. The striker's volley was wayward - he should have at least hit the target with only Crowther standing between him and the winning goal. From the resulting goal-kick, Bertos stormed down the flank, three opponents trailing in his slipstream. A driven low cross was a virtual invitation for both Hearfield and Ifill to win the game for Wellington, but both were just a stride too far behind the ball as it sped across the goalmouth. Perth scrambled the ball away for a corner, and Bertos' delivery picked out Durante's head. The sphere flashed across the face of goal … and there was still time for one more all-out assault on the visitors' goal. Manny Muscat joined in the fun now, picking out Bertos with a cross. Control, shoot …"Yee…aaa…ooohhh!" the Wellington fans sounded as one, the sight of Coyne blocking Bertos' goalbound strike ensuring Perth would head for home with the point their efforts fully merited from a match neither team did anywhere near remotely enough to win. Wellington:     Crowther; Muscat, Sigmund (booked, 75), Durante, Lochhead; Ifill (booked, 18), Brown, Lia (booked, 35), Daniel (Hearfield, 76); Barbarouses (Caceres, 70), Greenacre (Bertos, 67) Perth:          Velaphi; Neville, Todd, Coyle, Sekulovski; Pellegrino, Burns (booked, 81), Srhoj (booked, 62), Howarth (Bulloch, 79); Sterjovski, Jelic Referee:     Matthew Gillett