Taggart eases early Pain as Roar earn entertaining Mariners draw

Adam Taggart added a silver lining to a largely frustrating Brisbane Roar debut as his second-half equaliser rescued a 1-1 home draw with Central Coast Mariners on Sunday.

An off-season recruit from Perth Glory, the seven-time Caltex Socceroos striker squandered several glorious chances before sealing a share of the points in the 65th minute of an engaging contest at Suncorp Stadium.

Connor Pain had stunned the hosts with a fourth-minute opener but, on Mike Mulvey's return to Queensland, the new Mariners boss was forced to be content with a handy result in his first match in charge.

Mulvey's dream start against the club he delivered Grand Final success in 2014 came courtesy of a blistering counter-attacked capped by Pain's tidy finish along a greasy surface.

Brisbane set about retrieving the deficit with Taggart passing up several opportunities bfore half-time, the best an inexplicably wayward finish from Tobias Mikkelsen's cushioned touch in the box.

He was almost made to pay amid the wastefulness as Pain saw a curling effort deflect off Connor O'Toole, against the far post and across the face of goal.

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Taggart's frustration initially failed to subside after the interval with Ben Kennedy keeping out a point-blank header and a tight offside call going against him.

But relief finally arrived just beyond the hour as the 25-year-old former Golden Boot winner swivelled on a mishit Stefan Mauk attempt and rifled Roar back to level terms.

Tommy Oar and Eric Bautheac threatened to conjure a winner as the entertainment amped up in the closing moments, but both defences stood tall to leave the Round 1 clash all square.

Simon Pain McCormack
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This article was originally published on the Hyundai A-League website.
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