Soccer: What a way to end year for Knights

It was only a draw but for 4212 screaming fans at North Harbour Stadium last night the New Zealand Knights were winners.

In a dramatic finale to a pulsating game, Kris Bright and substitute Neil Emblem provided the build-up and Jeremy Brockie the clinical finish to deny the visitors two invaluable Hyundai A-League points.

There was always the feeling there would be a match-ending flourish from the Knights, who ran themselves to a standstill

Both teams hit the ground running with little hint of their Christmas break.

The fans, thirsting for early action, did not have to wait long.

Awarded the first freekick of the match and 15m into Sydney territory, Jeremy Christie sent the ball deep to pick out Sean Devine.

He shrugged off Iain Fyfe's close marking before sending a glancing header away from goalkeeper Clint Bolton for a stunning third-minute lead.

But within a minute, from their first freekick, the visitors equalised when David Carney, from much closer range, fired his shot which goalkeeper Danny Milosevic reached but succeeded only in deflecting into his goal.

Sydney sought to take control but found the ever-energetic Knights more than a match.

Cruelly, with halftime begging and the clock showing two minutes of added time, Frank van Eijs, in attempting to clear a harmless ball, handled.

Yorke calmly slotted from the spot to leave Knights boss John Adshead shaking his head in disappointment as he headed to the shed at the break.

Not surprisingly, the visitors, with that one-goal advantage, were content to play the second spell at their pace by attempting to control the midfield.

For 40 second-half minutes the ploy worked.

Then came that magical Brockie strike when he met Emblen's cross to the far post with a cracking left-foot volley.


Knights: 2 (S. Devine, J. Brockie)
Sydney FC: 2 (D. Carney, D. Yorke pen).
Halftime: 1-2