Video referee used for first time as Wellington draw with Sydney

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A late Michael McGlinchey header earned Wellington Phoenix an unlikely 1-1 draw with A-League leaders Sydney FC at Westpac Stadium -- in a game which saw the video assistant referee (VAR) used for the first-ever time in a competitive fixture.

Wellington were pressure from the first whistle, Sydney shutting down them down in the midfield and creating plenty of early chances.

Left-back Michael Zullo featured in a couple of promising forays after 20 minutes, sending Alex Brosque clear to set up a David Carney strike then almost finding Brosque with a tantalising ball from a sharp run down the left.

For Wellington, Roy Krishna and Roly Bonevacia combined well with Kosta Barbarouses to keep Sydney keeper Danny Vukovic and the Sky Blues' defence on their toes. After a scoreless first half, Sydney began the second half with real intent, and Wellington's back four were kept busy.

Alex Brosque let fly with an early strike, then a Bobo header called Lewis Italiano into early action before the Phoenix were able to find some possession in their attacking third.

Krishna and Finkler combined to set up a powerful Barbarouses strike from just outside the box, but Vukovic was as solid as ever in making the save. Wellington continued to push forward, but Sydney looked the more likely to score and were rewarded for their constant pressure with Bobo's 70th minute penalty -- via the VAR.

From the replays, Jarred Gillett judged Wellington centre-back Marco Rossi had handled the ball as he climbed high to defend the corner, and Evans pointed to the spot.

Bobo made no mistake, and a well-organised Sydney outfit looked to have wrapped up the win.

However, Wellington kept pressing and were rewarded when McGlinchey headed home in the 91st minute after Tommy Doyle's nod back from a Barbarouses corner.