Hume City came from behind three times to finish with a draw against Melbourne Knights in National Premier League soccer on Saturday night.
In windy conditions, both teams struggled at times, with the Knights opening the scoring in the 12th minute.
The Knights led 2-1 at half-time before both sides scored early in the second half.
Hume’s hopes took a hit when Jackson Morgan was sent from the field after receiving a red card but despite being a man down, Hume scored an equaliser in the 83rd minute.
Hume finished the game with nine men, with Mitchell Trajcevski sent from the field in injury time.
Coach Nick Hegarty said the club was reasonably happy to come away with one point.
Hegarty, Atilla Ofli and Bradley Blumenthal were the goalscorers.
“It was tough conditions with the wind,” he said. “We got behind three times and hit back each time. We have got the desire to keep going. The third instance we were a man down. We’d worked so hard to get back into the game and we gave them an opportunity.”
Hume has a win and a draw from its first four matches.
“The spirit of the lads has been great and they keep working on things,” Hegarty said. “The start of the season is the hardest thing.”
Hume has drawn South Melbourne in the fourth round of the FFA Cup. The match will be played at ABD Stadium on Good Friday.
“You want to play in the big ones,” Hegarty said. “I think it’s been named tie of the round so we’ll get plenty of coverage, which is nice. It’ll be a tough game and hopefully a good start to the Easter weekend.”
In NPL 2 west, Whittlesea Ranges had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Werribee City. Mario Piraino scored the opening goal for the Ranges as they took a 1-0 lead into half-time.
Werribee City levelled the scored in the 61st minute, before Aydin Mustedanagic gave the Ranges the lead for a second time.
A penalty to Werribee in injury time put it level again.
Ranges will face Truganina Hornets in the FFA Cup fourth round.
State League 2 side Whittlesea United will host Western Suburbs.
The FFV state league season starts this weekend.
