Alex Parsons has snatched a 1-1 draw for Sydney FC, breaking the hearts of his former A-League Men team Brisbane Roar with a smartly taken injury-time time goal at Allianz Stadium.
The Sky Blues (7-3-7) looked set to drop valuable points at home as they fell behind in the first half then suffered more pain at the penalty spot until Parsons secured the point with a late goal.
The ball dropped nicely inside the box for the 23-year-old Parsons to put away the leveller in the 94th minute after the Roar had defended resolutely against multiple late attacks on Saturday.
The Roar (3-8-6) took the lead against the run of play with Nikola Mileusnic's goal in the 34th minute which looked set to snap a six-match winless streak until their former teammate's late intervention.
The opener came after the Sky Blues had controlled much of the territory and tempo in the first half without truly testing Jordan Holmes in the Roar goal.
Brisbane midfielder Joe Knowles collected the ball on the right then sent a sharp cross to the deep left side of the box for Nikola Mileusnic to run onto.
The Roar forward brought the ball down with confidence and quickly unleashed a powerful strike that Andrew Redmayne could only watch fly past him and the near post into the top left corner.
It was the second time Mileusnic has got on the scoresheet in a season where the Roar have found goals hard to come by.
But it took another wasted penalty from Sydney FC - their fifth miss from six attempts from the spot this season - for the visitors to hold on to their lead.
The hosts had pressed hard for an equaliser in the second half and had their hopes lifted when Roar left-back Jordan Courtney-Perkins raised an arm to block a Joe Lolley strike inside the box.
Lolley stepped up to take the penalty but his low hit to the right was too soft to beat Holmes.
The Roar keeper almost presented the Sky Blues an equaliser and their youngster Patrick Yazbek a parting gift when he fumbled a ball hit straight at him but just gathered it before it crossed the line.
The hosts had several more opportunities to level the score in what was Rhyan Grant's 250th A-League Men game, but it took the late goal from Parsons to earn at least a point.
The return of Robbie Kruse was a bonus for Brisbane despite the late goal, the former Socceroo coming on in the 83rd minute for his first appearance for the club since leaving in 2009 for a lengthy stint overseas.
