Bula FC and South Melbourne FC were made to settle for a point apiece in an entertaining back-and-forth encounter in Port Moresby for the OFC Pro League.
Bula FC head coach Stephane Auvray had made a number of changes to his starting eleven, including dropping Roy Krishna, Setareki Hughes and goalkeeper Didier Desprez to the bench.
South Melbourne FC were largely unchanged, though did give an opportunity to goalkeeper Jake Charlston, ahead of Ilia Shalamanov-Trenkova.
Charlston would remain largely untroubled for much of the opening half however, as South Melbourne kept Bula FC pinned back in their own half.
Their high press was causing the Fijian side serious difficulties in relieving the pressure and it was little surprise when the deadlock was broken within a quarter of an hour.
A trademark long throw from Max Mikkola was flicked on, finding an unmarked Andrew Mesourouni at the back post, who swept in unattended.
Bula FC were desperately trying to weather the storm, with Matthew Foord denying Ishveer Singh, before Luka Coveny crashed a header against the crossbar as South Melbourne pushed for a second.
Having managed to survive going further behind, Bula FC were rewarded for their resilience late in the half, when Christopher Wasasala mustered an equaliser.
The forward, starting ahead of Roy Krishna, dispossessed South Melbourne captain Marco Jankovic, before sliding an effort underneath Charlston from a tight angle to make it 1-1 just before half-time.
They subsequently almost took the lead, when a corner from the right-hand side deflected off Jordan Lampard before thudding off the underside of the bar and away.
Both sides lifted their level after the break, with a win for either very much for the taking.
Mesourouni had a good chance to double his total when teed up by Arran Cocks, but the midfielder fired his effort over from the edge of the area.
Setareki Hughes, on as a substitute, had an even better chance minutes later. Latching onto a long clearance, he raced past Jankovic to the ball, before side-footing his effort agonisingly wide of the far post.
Roy Krishna and Fergus Gillion were brought on by Stephane Auvray, as the game opened up, both sides perhaps wilting in the Port Moresby heat.
Neither however were able to find that winning goal, with a point each a fair reflection of a highly entertaining ninety minutes.
Match results:
Bula FC: 1 (Christopher WASASALA 42′)
South Melbourne FC: 1 (Andrew MESOUROUNI 13′)
HT: 1-1
