Report: Late Cowburn equaliser saves Newcastle at the death

Nick Cowburn’s late equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw for Newcastle Jets in Saturday night’s Remembrance Round fixture against Sydney FC.

The Jets defender registered his maiden Hyundai A-League goal in timely fashion for Ernie Merrick’s side, heading home Dimitri Petratos’ free-kick at the near post to ensure a share of the spoils.

Earlier on, Alex Brosque had opened the scoring from nearly the exact same position on the field – beating Glen Moss with a near post header of his own.

That strike had for so long looked like the sole moment of ruthlessness from a match that failed to explode into life.

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The Sydney skipper threatened again late in a tetchy first half but blazed a left-footed effort high and wide after a well-worked foray forward.

The reigning Premiers continued to frustrate the shot-shy Jets in the second stanza, with Milos Ninkovic forcing Moss diving low to his left midway through the period as the Sky Blues searched for a match-clinching moment.

That never came for Steve Corica’s men, who were left frustrated on the cusp of stoppage time by Cowburn’s opportune moment of heroism.