Wellington Phoenix hearts have been broken by an injury-time equaliser in their A-League opener against Adelaide United in the capital.
Despite the early loss of debutant Yan Sasse to a red card for a nasty challenge on United's Javi Lopez, Ben Waine's 75th-minute strike seemed to seal an ideal start to their 2022/23 campaign, before Ben Halloran slotted a low shot past Phoenix keeper Oli Sail from a corner-kick to steal a 1-1 draw.
Referee Ben Abraham didn't hesitate for a second in dishing Sasse his red card, after the Brazilian's clumsy two-footed challenge connected with Lopez's plant leg in just the 25th minute.
Despite their one-man disadvantage for most of the match, the hosts rallied to remain firmly in the contest and were eventually rewarded.
Kosta Barbarouses was put through on goal and had his low driving shot saved, with Waine on the spot to pounce on the rebound and create scenes of bedlam amid the Phoenix faithful.
But with just two minutes left in the four minutes of added time, Adelaide had the last laugh. A corner-kick fell for Socceroo Halloran and the winger did the rest, causing the air to deflate from Sky Stadium.
The late goal denied the Phoenix their first win in a season-opening fixture in four years, dating back to the 2018/19 season.
Brutal late goal aside, Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay was heartened by his team's display.
"I'm disappointed to concede the way that we did, with a set-piece in the last couple of minutes of the game, but I'm very pleased with the boys," Talay said. "I think we nearly played a perfect half, with the 10 men we had on the park.
"We spoke at halftime about, if we get the opportunity on the counter, can we capitalise on it and we capitalised on one of the opportunities we created.
"Overall, for the period of time we played with 10 men, to walk away with one point is still a positive."
The result leaves the Wellingtonians in fourth place on the A-League ladder. They'll host Central Coast Mariners next Sunday.
Wellington Phoenix 1 (Waine ) Adelaide United 1 (Halloran)
