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WESTERN Sydney Wanderers missed the opportunity to get a grip on second spot with a frenetic 1-1 draw against Brisbane Roar in Parramatta, but the near-capacity crowd remained in celebratory mood as Shinji Ono was farewelled.
Goals to Liam Miller and Tomi Juric either side of half-time gave each club a share of the spoils, but it means the all-important second place will only be decided in the final round.
Re-live it all in our A-League Match Centre, featuring videos, stats, line-ups and play-by-play updates.
The Western Sydney club paid a wonderfully fitting tribute to their outgoing marquee star Ono, playing in his final home game of the regular season. At the start of the match the Red and Black Bloc held up a banner of Ono and in the 21st minute - Ono's shirt number - lights, fireworks and confetti were let off, while fans wore masks of the Japanese star's face. In fact, the first 21 minutes of the game felt more like a Shinji Ono tribute game than an A-League match with plenty at stake.
On the field, most of the first half belonged to Western Sydney. Nikolai Topor-Stanley should have grabbed the lead as early as the eighth minute, when he rose to meet Ono's corner, only to head the ball just over the bar.
Brendon Santalab squandered two chances in quick succession. The striker stabbed the ball wide after good work from Adam D'Apuzzo down the left in the 24th minute and, barely four minutes later, missed a free header.
Ante Covic pulled off some quality saves to keep the Roar at bay. The Wanderers goalkeeper got his fingertips to Luke Brattan's free-kick and watched as the ball dribbled inches wide of his far post and minutes later saved Liam Miller's attempt.
But, after absorbing the early pressure, Brisbane started to look the more dangerous side as the half progressed and in the 35th minute Miller got his goal.
Ono came tantalizingly close to grabbing one back for the Wanderers on the stroke of half time, when his free-kick was tipped onto the cross bar by Michael Theo.
Tony Popovic stressed during the week how the Roar are deserved winners of the Premier's Plate and the Brisbane side soon began to show the type of form that saw them dominate throughout the season.
Liam Miller opened the scoring for Western Sydney. Source: Getty Images
Popovic responded at the start of the second half by bringing on Juric and it didn't take long for the striker to make his mark. He calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net in the 60th minute, to the deafening roar of the 15,573 fans at Pirtek Stadium.
The equalizing goal brought about sustained pressure from the home side, with Ono, Topor-Stanley and Kwabena Appiah all chancing their luck. Some excellent interplay between Appiah and Ono should have resulted in the Wanderers second, but this time Juric only managed to fire his shot high and over.
The Wanderers players poured their hearts into the final 20 minutes of the game, but a match-winning goal continued to elude them. And while Popovic won't be able to question his players commitment, it is clear that the Wanderers' campaign has stuttered in recent weeks.
It was a big night for this man. Source: Getty Images
Popovic has rotated his squad for much of the season, but the club has struggled to juggle its commitments between the Asian Champions League and the A-League. In their last 12 domestic matches, their only three victories have all come against the struggling Perth Glory.
While the result wasn't quite the fairytale fans were hoping for, they couldn't have asked for more from Ono, who performed a small bow to them as he left the field two minutes before full-time.
Shinji Ono got quite the reception at Wanderland for his farewell. Source: Getty Images
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