A huge result for Dandenong City saw the club draw 2-2 with first-placed Heidelberg United in round 20 of the NPL.
Dandenong also achieved this on the road at Olympic Village, marking a very positive hit-out for City.
United were the first to strike through a broken set piece in the 33rd minute.
The midfield reset and assessed its options, finding Cherif Mohamed Aidara in space at the top of the box.
Mohamed Aidara barely even possessed the football before flicking it in behind to a streaking Bul Juach who fired his shot past the outstretched arm of Pierce Clark.
Dandenong trailed 1-0 when the halftime whistle was blown, with City not registering a single shot on target or corner in the first half.
Heidelberg managed two shots on target and three corners in a much better attacking half of football.
Dandenong drew level shortly after the break, with the dangerous Kenjok Athiu getting on the end of a corner kick and guiding it with his head into the back of the net.
However, the lead didn’t last long as the hosts were given an absolute gift by City eight minutes later.
A backpass to Clark was well-weighted, but Clark was slightly pressured by a pressing Juach.
Juach made Clark’s first touch heavy, losing control of the ball and allowing Juach to deflect his kick and run into an open goal.
It was a completely unnecessary and avoidable goal to concede, frustrating the entire Dandenong lineup in the process.
But the match had one more twist, with City’s resilience shining through late in the game.
A corner was sent in high but short for Heidelberg, where Athiu cleared off his head.
This launched Yagoub Mustafa and Jamie Latham on a blistering two-man counterattack, where Latham found the ball at his feet before playing a wonderful pass through that slipped in Mustafa.
Mustafa placed his shot wonderfully, scoring for Dandenong and once again bringing the match to a deadlock, where it remained until the final whistle blew.
The result is a huge point for City, handing United just its third draw of the 2025 campaign to date.
Dandenong is still in seventh on the table as it prepares to host South Melbourne in round 21.
