The Western Sydney Wanderers FNSW League One side extended their unbeaten run to six games, but were frustratingly only able to draw against NWS Spirit at Christie Park.
With the two teams above them pitted against each other and eventually sharing the points, a win would have taken the Wanderers to the top of the table.
However, they were behind for large portions of the game before substitute Aiden Mostofi grabbed a late equaliser.
The match got off to an inauspicious start for the team, as they fell behind in the 4th minute when Blake Ilitch got off the end of a knockdown from a corner.
They didn’t let this get to them, though, and they equalised just six minutes later when a Jarrod Carluccio cross was directed into the path of Daniel Wilmering, whose fierce volley was too hot for the Spirit keeper to handle.
The Wanderers then became ground down, unable to breach a compact defence; their misery was compounded in the 24th minute, when Musashi Kokubo powered a quality header from a free-kick past the despairing Jack Gibson.
The frustration continued for the boys in Red & Black, as they struggled to make their weight of possession count as the home side put lots of bodies behind the ball after half-time.
Though there were half chances to Carluccio and Mark Natta, the side was struggling to test the Spirit keeper.
So fresh legs were introduced in the form of Lochlan Constable and Jordi Swibel, who was playing his first game since the start of April.
The changes rejuvenated the side, and Constable had a wonderful chance to level the game, with his effort from distance well saved by Chris Marques.
He would be unable to deny Mostofi, though; only on the field for six minutes, he found himself unmarked at the back post and tapped home a Jesper Webber cross in the 84th minute.
The draw means the Wanderers stay in third place, they travel to Hills United next Saturday.
