Melbourne City scrap to goalless draw with Perth Glory
Melbourne City and Perth Glory have shared the spoils after their uninspiring A-League encounter ended in a 0-0 draw at AAMI Park.
Glory sat three points clear on top of the ladder going into Saturday night's clash, with City fourth but their lofty positions didn't translate into many scoring opportunities for either side.
The dour struggle came to life in the last 10 minutes when both sides had chances to score late winners.
Perth striker Andy Keogh drew a superb save from Eugene Galekovic in the 82nd minute then set up Jason Davidson from the rebound, but he blasted his shot high.
Soon after, Scott Jamieson's speculative cross nearly embarrassed Glory keeper Liam Reddy who was saved by the crossbar.
City couldn't manufacture one shot on target in a listless first half, while the visitors only forced Galekovic into one save at the other end.
Florin Berenguer-Bohrer should have put Warren Joyce's side ahead from close range in the 34th minute but the Frenchman failed to make contact with Ritchie de Laet's dangerous cross.
Referee Shaun Evans waved off pleas for a penalty soon after the restart when City's Rostyn Griffiths went to ground inside the area.
Both sides showed more attacking intent as the second half progressed and Keogh nearly broke the deadlock for Perth in the 58th minute.
Former City midfielder Neil Kilkenny put his teammate through on goal with a beautifully weighted pass, but a desperate tackle from Harrison Delbridge saved the day for the home team.