Team Socceroo secured a valuable point as it battled Pasargad to a 1-1 stalemate in a battle of relegation-threatened teams Tuesday night in the United Football League at Emperador Stadium.
Lee Jeong Woo struck from the penalty spot in the second half to cancel out forward Jerome Cuyos’ first half strike in a game of few clear cut scoring chances.
The result left Socceroo with 10 points, five ahead of Pasargad, which can still climb out of last spot if it wins its two games in hand.
Pasargad still has an uphill climb in the third round. The last placed team in the top flight will drop to second division next season.
“The draw is not a bad result for both teams, but maybe it’s not good for us because we really needed the three points,” said Pasargad coach Ayi Aryee.
Aryee felt his team was denied the golden chance of doubling the lead from the penalty spot when referee Joel Lamboson only gave Pasargad an indirect free kick for Antonio Bonoan’s high boot challenge on Simon Bayemeg inside the area.
Pasargad’s woes were compounded when goalkeeper William Nsangou was shown a straight red for making contact with Diego Barrera’s head after punting a ball clear.
Socceroo midfielder Park Yi young was red carded with the game winding down for throwing a punch.