Comeback queen Ash Sykes couldn't find the winner but Canberra United kept its season alive with a gutsy draw against Brisbane Roar at McKellar Park on Thursday night.
Canberra club legend Sykes came out of retirement two days before the game and the 1358-strong crowd rose as one when the former captain came on in the 57th minute.
Ash Sykes in action in her return from retirement.Credit:AAP
The 27-year-old quickly proved she hasn't missed a beat since retiring at the end of last season and looked dangerous on the ball, but couldn't complete the fairytale.
"You cant teach experience, [Sykes] has come and her first two or three touches were outstanding," Canberra coach Heather Garriock said.
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"But I wouldn't expect anything less. For her to come out of retirement to play for Canberra United just shows the character she is and how much she loves the club."
It was a scorching 33 degrees at kick-off but South African superstar Rhoda Mulaudzi matched the the blistering conditions with lightning speed to score the opener.
Mulaudzi robbed the ball from Clare Polkinghorne before dashing past the Matildas veteran, coolly cutting around goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and slotting home on the angle inside three minutes.
It was all Canberra in opening 15 minutes before Brisbane worked its way into the contest and it became a war attrition in the midfield, which limited the attacking chances.
Canberra's Rhoda Mulaudzi scored a crafty opener inside the first three minutes. Credit:Rohan Thomson
Then against the run of play Roar found an equaliser when Carson Pickett hit a pinpoint cross for Allira Toby, who rose above Taren King to head home sharply on 38 minutes.
The visitors had the final chance of the half but United came steaming out of the blocks in the second and a Mulaudzi free-kick whistled just wide on 49 minutes.
It was there to be won for Canberra as Nikki Flannery – playing striker for the first time this season – was a woman possessed in search of an equaliser and came close twice.
The talking point of the second stanza arrived when United shot-stopper Sham Khamis left her box and took out Brisbane striker Yuki Nagasato in the 83rd minute.
United players celebrate Rhoda Mulaudzi's opener.Credit:AAP
Khamis earned her third yellow card in as many weeks for the same offence and there's an argument all three could have been red. It's her fourth booking of the season and a fifth will see her suspended.
Canberra defused the ensuing free-kick but the Roar bench was left seething that Khamis wasn't dismissed.
United made a surprise announcement before the match that they'd re-released Irish star Denise O'Sullivan and re-signed Chilean Maria Rojas, who came on in the 85th minute.
United fans were on the edge of their seats and in the dying stages Sykes hit a perfect cross for Flannery, whose shot ricocheted off the crossbar to the agony of the home supporters.
Natalie Tathem of Brisbane (left) and Olivia Price of Canberra (right) battle it out.Credit:AAP
Rojas had a shot in the dying seconds which sailed over the bar and it proved the final action of the match with the spoils shared in the capital.
"We created so many opportunities. Im more disappointed we got the point when it should have been three points today," Garriock said.
"Theres a lot of positives out of tonight but we need to finish games, thats what it comes down to, this league is so competitive and one point is not good enough at this time."
The draw keeps United within touching distance of the finals-bound top four but its season will hinge on an away clash against table-toppers Perth Glory next Thursday.
Canberra's third last game of the season against Adelaide United at home on January 13 could ultimately decide the final spot in the W-League play-offs.
CANBERRA UNITED 1 (Rhoda Mulaudzi 3m) drew with BRISBANE ROAR 1 (Allira Toby 38m) at McKellar Park on Thursday night. Crowd: 1358. Referee: Katie Patterson.
Eamonn Tiernan is a sports reporter with The Canberra Times
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