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- Melbourne Victory FC Fans - Includes Melbourne Victory fixtures, results, club news, gallery, opinions and more, A late goal to Danny Allsopp salvaged a 3-3 draw for Melbourne Victory in their round 11 A-League clash with Central Coast Mariners at Docklands on Friday night. The Mariners led a nine-man Victory outfit 3-2 until the 86th minute before a perfectly-timed pass from Brazilian import Fred found Allsopp on the volley to give the home side a share of the points. The Victory had earlier lost Rodrigo Vagas and captain Kevin Muscat to red cards in the first half. The draw puts them 12 points clear on top of the A-League ladder ahead of the completion of this weekend's round of matches. The Mariners join the fourth-placed Sydney FC on 13 points. The encounter got off to an amazing start with four goals scored in the opening 12 minutes. The Victory were first on the scoreboard when Allsopp headed a Fred cross near the back post, but the visitors replied almost immediately when Jamie McMaster found the back of the net following a well-placed pass from Damian Mori. Socceroos striker Archie Thompson was set loose in the 11th minute to send the Victory into a 2-1 lead but again the Mariners were able to find a quick reply, this time via Stewart Petrie. The Mariners assumed the lead in the 23rd minute when Adam Kwasnik goaled from the spot, the penalty arising from a Vargas hand-ball on the line. Muscat received his marching orders close to half-time after being given his second yellow card of the match. The Mariners held their lead through to the break and seemed on the verge of an upset win until Allsopp managed the equaliser close to full-time. Melbourne will now host Perth Glory in round 12 at Docklands while the Mariners face the Jets in Newcastle on Sunday week., Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick's wonderment at his nine-man team's 3-3 draw with Central Coast Mariners on Friday night has led him to declare anything's possible for the A-League leader. In the bravest performance in the club's short history, Melbourne came back from a seemingly impossible position to grab a late draw with three minutes remaining. Down 3-2 after 23 minutes, and having two experienced players in Rodrigo Vargas and Kevin Muscat sent off before half-time, the Victory played the Mariners off the park in the second half with two men less. Roared on by more than 28,000 at Telstra Dome, eventually the Victory's pressure and determination told. Striker Danny Allsopp capitalised on some magic build-up from Brazilian Fred to smash home in the 87th minute for his second of the game. Not noted for making outlandish statements, Merrick was effusive in his praise post-match, and for the first time hinted winning the league was well within his unstoppable side's grasp. "With heart, endeavour, enthusiasm, for sure," Merrick said when asked whether he rated it his side's best performance. "This team seems to get stronger. After tonight, I think anything's possible." "Tough performance, we did really well against a team which gave us a beating twice last year, and we made them look pretty average with nine men." It seems amazing that with nine wins and a draw from 11 matches this season, it was the draw that has proved beyond doubt the Victory's championship qualities. Twice the Mariners fought back from a goal down within a minute of the Victory taking the lead, then finally grabbed a 3-2 advantage midway through the first half when Adam Kwasnik slammed home a penalty conceded by Vargas. Referee Peter Green marched Vargas for handballing a goal-bound Kwasnik header. Then Muscat - who had been having a running battle with Jamie McMaster - was sent off for a second yellow just prior to half-time after tangling again with the Mariner in an off-the-ball incident. But still the Victory found something to salvage a point in a match which will go down as among the best games in the A-League's short history. "We had nothing to lose, we went out and gave 100 per cent," Allsopp said. "Our team's got really good belief. We always thought we were a chance, and we even created a couple of chances to win it." The Victory will be understrength for its next match against Perth Glory next Thursday, with Vargas and Muscat to receive automatic suspensions for their red cards.
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