.gif "Sack Attack: An A-League Webcomic")
“I love the big occasion,” Bolton said post-game.
“When the pen was given in injury time, my first thought was ‘we’ve just thrown this one away’.
“I stalled it as much as I could. I don’t know if you saw it, but I didn’t think it was on the penalty spot from my angle, so I said that to the ref.
“The pressure is on him, I just got to do my best, get a hand on it if I can. If I don’t no-one remembers that.
“That felt like a finals type atmosphere and I loved it.”
In the final ten minutes of play Brisbane were slowly gaining the upper hand and looking to claim another characteristically last minute victory. And when referee Ryan Shepheard pointed to the spot following a challenge in the box by Simon Colosimo on Besart Berisha, the win seemed inevitable.
However many at the stadium, including Bolton and Heart coach John van’t Schip, were surprised when defender Mohamed Adnan stepped up to take the penalty. Though penalty spot stalwart Henrique was absent, serving a two match suspension for slapping in their previous fixture, Adnan still seemed like a peculiar option.
But not for Roar coach Ange Postecoglou.
“Mohamed has taken a number of penalties for his country and is a very accomplished penalty taker,” he said.
“It was a good save by Clint but it takes a lot of courage to step up there.
“I will never be critical of anyone who takes a penalty because the easiest thing to do when it is given is turn your back and walk to the half way line.”
Brisbane Roar started confidently, as they had done in recent matches, producing a golden chance in just the 2nd minute through a most unlikely candidate in Massimo Murdocca. His low strike was parried by Heart ‘keeper Clint Bolton but in-form striker Besart Berisha was unable to put away the deflected ball.
Roar were given the better territory and time in possession in the first half however Melbourne’s defence was decidedly resilient, allowing Brisbane players with little time on the ball.
The home team got the breakthrough after the half hour mark thanks to a rare mistake made by the men at the back for Heart. Simon Colosimo stuck out his boot to stop a Thomas Broich cross but it unfortunately fell right at the feet of Mitch Nichols whose glorious strike found the bottom right corner of the net and sent 10,988 people at Suncorp Stadium into a frenzy.
Following a second half onslaught led by Melbourne’s Eli Babalj, Mate Dugandzic, and Jonathan Germano, the visitors were right back in it in the 49th minute with Curtis Good scoring a beautifully timed header off the corner to bring his team back on equal terms.
Eli Babalj had an opportunity to seal the winner by pouncing on a bad pass by Adnan late in the game but couldn’t cut his shot back enough, despite rounding goalkeeper, Michael Theoklitos.
The draw means the Roar still remain hot on the heels of table toppers Central Coast Mariners, sitting just two points behind on the Hyundai A-League ladder.
Melbourne Heart on the other hand solidify their spot in fifth place, with what John van’t Schip believed was a moral boosting display in Brisbane.
“It felt like a win with that penalty, but if you take that away, it was a very deserved draw,” he said.
“We’re very happy with the way we performed and we’ll take it away with us for the next games coming up.
“The Roar is still the big favourite for the championship and to win the grand final, but we’ve closed the gap.”