Title Race Wide Open As Top Two Draw

Mitchelton 2 (Murray 58'; Griffin 63') Rochedale Rovers 2 (Cameron 40'; Aoci 70') HT 0-1 Played at: Teralba Park

Kado Aoci's leveller 20 minutes from time was enough to earn league leaders Rochedale Rovers a share of the points at Mitchelton after the hosts had overturned a 1-0 half time deficit with goals from Antonio Murray and Jeremy Griffin. Lewis Cameron had opened the scoring shortly before the break when his strike from the edge of the box took a deflection which sent the ball beyond the reach of Mitchie keeper Jono Walsh, after the home side had failed to clear their lines from a Ryan Stenhouse free kick. Sam Fellows reacting quickest to lay the ball out to Cameron who had time to measure his shot which took a touch off a Mitchelton leg en-route to goal. Despite the Mustangs opening this top of the table clash the brighter, it was Rovers who nearly took the lead early on. Cameron striking the outside of the upright from the left side of the penalty area 10 minutes in. Moments later Rovers playmaker Cameron found Seiji Shizuno on the edge of the six yard box who with the outside of the boot, guided the ball past Walsh, but his effort was ruled out for being narrowly offside. The Mustangs, who had only played one other game in the last month, were forced to replace Ben Njie early in the second half with the striker struggling after a return from injury. Substitute Jake Mitchell replacing the joint top goal scorer for the Mustangs and within a few minutes he'd made an impact when finding Murray unmarked in the middle of the box and who was provided too much space to bring the ball under control and smash it past James Harkin in the Rovers goal. Just over five minutes later Mitchie took the lead after the visitors were again caught napping. Impressive English midfielder Gary Stopforth had both Murray and Jeremy Griffin unmarked in the middle of the box to choose from and his pin point pass picked out Griffin who made no mistake from ten yards out. As was the nature of the game, it was another defensive lapse that allowed Aoci space and time on the edge of the six yard box as he met sub Tim Morgan's ball into the area and despatched his effort comfortably past Walsh to level proceedings. Mitchell went close late on for Mitchie after a good run but his effort flashed just wide of Harkin's post. In truth, it wasn't the prettiest of football on display and the draw was a fair outcome when Referee Martin Krenes blew the final whistle. Goals were always on the menu with both sides happy to attack, with Cameron for Rovers proving a handful and Stopforth for the Mustangs supporting the ball well when transitioning into attack and pinging passes with precision, but both coaches will be referring to their defensive errors that caused them to concede in what was a scrappy encounter. It's local derby time next round when Mitchelton host Grange Thistle, whilst Rovers also welcome nearby local rivals in the shape of Souths United. Both sides will be looking to pick up maximum points each from those contests but with the league at it's closest in years, who knows what will happen.

Rochedale's Jason Tobin and Mitchelton's Jake Mitchell battle for the ball.

Coaches Remarks: Leo Sirianni - Mitchelton: "I don't think it was the prettiest game to watch. First half was very tight and we've made a mistake with players not communicating and they get a goal out of it. I thought the first half was a stalemate. We changed one little thing second half and I thought we were great; we started to get the ball out wide and cause some trouble. But to leave Kado free in the six yard box; you can't do that. We haven't played much in the last month so it was good to see the fitness levels were still there and we were there for the 90 minutes. I'm a little upset with certain things but there's a lot of positives to be had from the game and we'll take the point."

Scott MacNicol - Rochedale Rovers: "I think the draw was a fair result. We showed good character to come back when they went 2-1 up and momentum swung their way. I thought we had the better chances. Wasn't to be tonight but I'm happy to come here and get a point, not many teams will come here and get points so I'm happy with that."

FB Media Player of the Match: Gary Stopforth (Mitchelton).

Stopforth was the key cog in the wheel of the Mitchie attack with his distribution and work rate exceptional in front the home crowd.

FB Media Stats:

Possession: 47% - 53%

Shots on target: 3 - 7

Shots off target: 8 - 10

Corners: 3 - 7

Free Kicks: 11 - 17

Offside: 1 - 1

Yellow Cards: 0 - 0

Red Cards: 0 - 0 Team Line-ups:

Mitchelton: Walsh (gk), Bernardi, Bevan, Griffin, Holden, Lee, McVey, Murray, Njie (Mitchell 52'), Stopforth, Willoughby.