Eden Park remains a fortress for Wellington Phoenix, but their latest draw with Brisbane Roar has virtually slammed the door shut on hopes of hosting an A-League playoff fixture this season.
The side from the capital remain unbeaten at Auckland's 'National Stadium', preserving their record with 2-2 deadlock in their 11th appearance on the hallowed turf.
The result is enough to keep them inside the competition's top six with two rounds to play, but while they retain a mathematical chance of a post-season home game, they would now need a miracle to make that a reality.
Chalk this up as yet another lost opportunity in a season full of points squandered in games the Phoenix have lead.
Brisbane struck in the seventh minute, when Yan Sasse brought down Jez Lofthouse in the penalty area and Jay O'Shea converted from the spot, firing exactly where keeper Oli Sail stood before he dived right.
In the 31st minute, a deflected corner fell to Sam Sutton on the edge of the box, but his left-foot rocket was parried out by Roar keeper Jordan Holmes.
The Phoenix got their chance to draw level moments later, when Lofthouse felled David Ball in the penalty area and Oskar Zawada slotted his kick into the bottom right corner of goal.
Before halftime, Henry Orr almost restored Brisbane's lead, when he hit the crossbar from close range.
Soon after the restart, Ball played a delightful ball across goal that Zawada could not connect with, while Lofthouse forced a diving save from Sail.
Phoenix finally took a lead, when Sasse played one-two exchanges with both Kosta Barbarouses and Zawada, before slotting past Holmes.
Brisbane had their chances to strike back, with Sail diving to his right to deny O'Shea, before Henry Hore sprayed a left-foot effort wide.
Sasse had an opportunity to add to the lead during a goalmouth scramble that saw two shots blocked at pointblank range.
Ball was desperately unlucky not to score, when his left-foot effort hit both uprights, without actually crossing the goal-line, then seconds late, bounced a right foot off the far post.
Holmes dived at the feet of fast-closing substitute Bozhidar Kraev, before Scott Neville finally deflected a corner home for the Brisbane equaliser.
Sasse had a chance to grab the lead back in added time, left wide open in front of goal, but his header went wide. As the final seconds ticked down, he sent a left-footed effort over the crossbar, as the dream of a home playoff all but faded.
"We didn't take our chances in the second half," admitted captain Sail. "We had three or four, maybe five really good chances and conceded from another set-piece - we keep letting ourselves down.
"We had half a dozen chances, enough to win 3-4 football matches, and didn't take them.
"I don't think we've had a game this season where we haven't looked fantastic on the ball for large patches of the match, but that doesn't win you football matches.
"Tonight wasn't about how we played or how we looked, we needed three points and we didn't get three points."
The result sees the Phoenix fall six points behind fourth-placed Western Sydney - their next opponents - but while two wins and two losses respectively would see them level on the ladder, Wanderers currently enjoy a substantial goal-difference advantage in a countback.
"Two wins is a must, but they've got it all to lose and they'll be really confident coming into this weekend," insisted Sail. "It would have been nice to put some pressure on them and take the game to them.
"We're still pushing to get ourselves right for the finals - we're going to be in the finals, so it's a case of preparing ourselves as best we can."
Wellington are not safely into the playoffs just yet and any further slip over the next two weeks could see Sydney FC, Newcastle Jets or Perth Glory slip past on the table.
With both remaining matches on the road, the outing marked the last home game for several of the team's leading stars - including Sail and coach Ufuk Talay - who have already indicated they will leave Wellington next season.
Wellington Phoenix 2 (Zawada penalty, Sasse) Brisbane Roar 2 (O'Shea penalty, Neville)
