By Justin Schwarze
Dandenong City shared the points with Preston in a round 15 1-1 draw in the NPL at Genis Steel Stadium on Friday night.
In what was a theme for both Dandenong sides, City conceded late to spoil their chance at continuing their hot winning streak.
At halftime, Dandenong was the much better side, attempting six shots with three on target while Preston had just three shots and none accurate.
However, the score was still deadlocked at 0-0.
Not a single player was booked for either side in the first half and there was just one corner between the teams, showcasing that the game was to be won in the midfield in the second half.
City finally got onto the scoresheet when a fantastic counter attack was launched from very deep in defence.
A long ball from inside the opposing box came out to Brad Plant in the middle of the pitch in space.
Plant carried the ball all the way into the box, before executing a nice one-two with Jamie Latham that slipped him in for a shot.
A diving Lions keeper saved the shot, but the rebound went directly to Kenjok Athiu who put the ball comfortably into the back of the net.
In the 88th minute, Preston was attacking when Thomas Giannakopoulos illegally tackled Oliver Kubilay.
The referee signalled for a free kick on the left side just outside the box for the hosts.
Jason Romero decided to shoot from the difficult angle, but Pierce Clark’s outstretched arm couldn’t reach the cross, leading the ball to be tapped in on the goal line.
In heartbreaking fashion, Dandenong drew the game that it had controlled for most of the 90 minutes.
City had 14 shots to 11 and seven on target to four.
The opportunity was squandered but they will feel confident taking it right up to the fifth-placed Lions on the road.
Dandenong remains in seventh with six wins, five draws and four losses.
This week, City will prepare for the upcoming Dandy Derby, a game in which the boys in white will be the host.
