Sydney FC preserved their unbeaten A-League record and remain six points clear at the top of the table after rescuing a point against Melbourne City with a late penalty that earned them a 1-1 draw in a feisty clash in front of a disappointing crowd of 14,668 fans at ANZ Stadium.
The Sky Blues had to play with 10 men for the last 17 minutes against their closest rivals on the table after Josh Brillante's dismissal for a foul on Neil Kilkenny, his second yellow card of the match.
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Late penalty keeps Sydney undefeated
The harbour city side remain six points clear at the top of the ladder.
Sydney began with great intent, determined to exorcise the memory of their recent cup final loss to City as soon as possible: Bobo, Filip Holosko and Milos Dimitrijevic were all prominent early as the hosts imposed themselves on their visitors as City barely got out of their own half.
Rhyan Grant went close in the 16th minute with a bullocking run down the right flank but his shot went wide. The Sydney full-back thought he had given his side the lead two minutes later after an intricate move down the left produced an opening for him on the opposite side of the penalty area. His fiercely struck shot looked all over a goal – only for the ball to strike Sydney striker Bobo on the line as it went in.
Referee Kris Griffiths-Jones consulted with his assistant but disallowed the strike as Bobo was standing in an offside position.
It was a "goal" Sydney's dominance deserved, but the reprieve seemed to breathe some life into the visitors who began to find some attacking momentum of their own, their South American troika of Fernando Brandan, Nicolas Colazo and Bruno Fornaroli beginning to have more of an influence.
Colazo's season in Australia has been blighted by an eardrum injury which required an operation and kept him on the sidelines for over a month, but the Boca Juniors player, on loan for this campaign, is a classy individual with the full repertoire of skills and tricks.
He showed tremendous technique in the 26th minute with a beautifully weighted free kick after Brillante had brought down City midfielder Luke Brattan.
Colazo's shot left Danny Vukovic stranded only to come back off the post, giving Sydney a reprieve of their own.
City debutant Ruon Tongyik, a Sudanese migrant as a child who started his career in Adelaide, then denied Alex Brosque with a good tackle.
Shortly after City took the lead with a spectacular goal from Brandan, who combined well with his Argentinian compatriot Colazo to create an opening in the 32nd minute. The latter created space in a congested midfield and slipped a pass through to Brandan, who evaded several defenders before letting fly with a powerful long-range drive.
The Sky Blues have only been behind once this season, when Melbourne Victory took the lead at Allianz Stadium, and they reacted well then to come back for a controversial 2-1 win.
This time they looked to do the same and Dimitrijevic almost brought them level five minutes later with a stinging free kick that forced Dean Bouzanis to dive full length before palming the ball to safety. Brandan, with his fierce will to win, pace and skill embodies some of the best qualities of the game. But his play acting, diving and attempts to feign injury after tackles reflects some of the worst. On two occasions in the second half he went to ground as if struck, clutching his face and head, provoking outrage from his opponents for his simulation.
Grant, who had been involved in one of those clashes – when his hand brushed the back of Brandan's head – popped up at the other end and headed into the side netting from Milos Ninkovic's cross, then Bobo fired straight at Bouzanis when he had a chance to find an equaliser.
Jakobsen then slid in with a timely interception to deny Bobo when the Brazilian burst through. Bobo then picked up a caution after he went in high and late on Franjic as tempers flared with Graham Arnold's side staring at their first loss of the season.
That they didn't was down to Griffiths-Jones' decision to award Sydney a penalty when Bobo went to ground under a soft-looking challenge by Jakobsen, the Brazilian converting from the spot with 10 minutes remaining.