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A share of the points for Gold Coast

A draw was just about the right result on the night with both sides having opportunities to win it and United denied what looked like a clear penalty midway through the second half.

United Head Coach Miron Bleiberg said afterwards that he hopes the result will be the catalyst to an upturn in results and he has every reason to have confidence in his troops after a gritty performance against the sky blues.

The match was an arm wrestle at times with plenty of fiery challenges resulting in nine yellow cards - seven for the visitors and two for United with the battle for the points also threatening to boil over once or twice.

After beating Brisbane last week Sydney went with an unchanged line-up, but Gold Coast made several alterations as Bleiberg went with a more experienced starting side. Back in were Dutch duo Peter Jungschlager and Paul Beekmans, who both sat out last week with injuries. Compatriot Maceo Rigters also reclaimed his starting spot up front in an attacking trio that included Dylan Macallister and Ben Halloran.

There were early chances for both sides with Shannon Cole’s free-kick forcing Glen Moss into some early work between the United posts and James Brown going agonisingly close with a 20-metre drive that shaved the Sydney woodwork.

A compact Sydney were doing everything possible to deny United space, a tactic that worked well against Brisbane, but Gold Coast grew in confidence as the half wore on even if there was little to show for their efforts on the scoreboard.

Adama Traore had one of the best chances of the half, his low left-footed drive to Liam Reddy’s near post would have sneaked in had the Sydney custodian’s reflexes not been at their best.

Just before the break Maceo Rigters had s good sight of goal when a lovely pass from Ben Halloran put him beyond his marker, but the Dutch striker screwed his shot wide.

Just after the restart Gold Coast had Glen Moss to thank for keeping the scoreline blank when he produced a flying fingertip save to deny Karol Kisel’s blistering drive from the edge of the box. Kisel was later to miss the best chance of the game, heading over with the goal at his mercy.

United almost broke the deadlock midway through the half when only the heroics of Liam Reddy saved Sydney. Substitute Chris Harold, who had only been on the field for a matter of seconds, burst into the box only to have his effort smothered by Reddy. The Sydney keeper then recovered quickly to bravely dive at the feet of Ben Halloran and half stop his stab at goal, but the ball failed to cross the line after appearing to strike Sydney defender Shannon Cole’s hand.

The two sides traded tired blows late on in search of what would be the winning goal, but both defences held form to take home a share of the spoils.

Gold Coast United:

1.Glen Moss [gk], 3.Michael Thwaite (c), 5.Kristian Rees, 6.Paul Beekmans, 12.Dylan Macallister (17.Chris Harold 66’), 14.Ben Halloran, 15.Adama Traore, 16.Maceo Rigters (21.Daniel Severino 88’), 18.James Brown, 22.Peter Jungschlager, 24.Jonas Salley.

Unused subs: 20.Jerrad Tyson [gk], 23.Dylan McGowan.

Yellow cards: Brown 82’, Halloran 86’

Red cards: None.

Sydney FC:

1. Liam Reddy [gk], 3.Jamie Coyne, 4.Pascal Bosschaart, 5.Michael Beauchamp, 7.Brett Emerton, 8.Karol Kisel, 9.Bruno Cazarine (18.Juho Makela 54’), 10.Nick Carle, 11.Dimi Petratos (23.Rhyan Grant 73’), 12.Shannon Cole, 15.Terry McFlynn (c).

Unused subs: 20.Ivan Necevski [gk], 2.Sebastian Ryall. 

Yellow cards: Coyne 19’, Cazarine 30’, Cole 34’, Bosschaart 45+2’, McFlynn 68’, Kisel 74’, Beauchamp 82’.

Red cards: None.

Hyundai A-League Week 10

At Skilled Park, Gold Coast

GOLD COAST UNITED 0

SYDNEY FC 0

HT: 0-0

Referee: Ben Williams