SYDNEY Olympic were unlucky not to snatch victory in the frantic final minutes in their clash against Blacktown City.
It was a thrilling end to end encounter with both having to share the spoils after an exhilarating 1-1 draw at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday.
Joey Gibbs fired home for Blacktown midway through the second half, but it was quickly cancelled out when Olympic equalised only two minutes later through Radovan Pavicevic.
Both sides traded chances in the crazy closing 10 minutes but neither could find the breakthrough as they took only a point away from an enthralling contest.
It was an electric start to the match with Olympic creating two early chances inside the first five minutes which were extinguished by a scrambling Blacktown defence.
It proved to be only an early scare with the home side quickly taking control of possession and controlling proceedings for the much of the first half.
Then 52 minutes in, Olympic shot stopper Henderson was called into action with the veteran keeper’s diving save denying a back post header from Blacktown’s new signing Lachlan Campbell.
Centre back Campbell was at it again only moments later with a shot from the edge of the box crashing off the upright.
The former Wanderers youth player turned the game on its head in the 65 minute when he set up Gibbs to open the scoring.
A deft flick pass from Campbell after a marauding run set up a wide open Gibbs who fired home on his second effort after his first was blocked by Henderson.
However, Blacktown’s lead didn’t last long with Olympic firing back only two minutes later.
A pinpoint corner kick delivery was headed home at the front post by an unmarked Pavicevic to level the score at 1-1.
The result was yet another frustrating result for Olympic and coach Abbas Saad felt his side were once again out of luck.
“It was another missed opportunity and we just can’t seem to find the winning touch,” Saad said.
“I thought we outplayed Blacktown today but we conceded a soft goal.
“We showed good spirit to bounce back and equalise straight away while in the final stages we were the ones who looked more likely to find a winner.
“At the end of the day we paid the price for our missed opportunities.”