A desperate move to throw defender Tom Aldred up to centre forward paid handsome dividends for Brisbane Roar as they grabbed a point against Auckland FC with literally the last kick of the game on Friday night.
The clock had already ticked over to the fifth minute of what was supposed to be four minutes of stoppage time when Aldred, having just recovered from a vicious blow to the head – “I just had to suck it up” was how he described his recovery process – scored the equaliser after his header from a corner was initially blocked, before controlling the ball with his back to goal, turning and squeezing a shot into the bottom corner.
It prompted delirious celebrations for the Roar players and their fans, who late in the second half must have felt like it wasn’t to be for them on this occasion as they dominated possession to the tune of 69% but failed, up until that point, to find the back of the net.
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But this is a different Roar team to the one that struggled for much of last season, and their captain Aldred is central to that.
For much of the evening he was dogged in defence, but after full-time he revealed that Brisbane coach Michael Valkanis had shifted the skipper from centre half to centre forward.
“It’s one of them when the gaffer said to me with, I think it was four minutes to go, ‘look, go up top’,” Aldred said on Paramount+
“I know what centre halves hate, especially late on… I know the problems I want to create, and I felt like I did that in the four minutes I had there.”
BRISBANE EQUALISE WITH THE LAST KICK OF THE GAME! 🤯🦁
Tom Aldred is the hero for @brisbaneroar, snatching the hosts a well-deserved point before celebrating with The Den! 🔥
Watch the full replay on Paramount+ 📺 https://t.co/dPcaqsMJLT
— Paramount+ Australia (@ParamountPlusAU) October 30, 2026
A few minutes earlier the 36-year-old was looking worse for wear after blocking a shot with his head on the edge of his own penalty area.
It felt like an old school moment as Aldred waved away the referee and team medico to insist he was fine.
“I feel good. Took one in the chin there, so count to 10 and we get back up,” Aldred said.
“As it was heading towards my face, there was just nowhere to put that big head of mine, so it just hit my head, didn’t it?
“I didn’t want to come off… I don’t know what the protocols are now with obviously injury and all that, and having to wait 10, 15, 20 seconds to come back on, so yeah, just suck it up and get on with it.”
‘This is a different Brisbane Roar team’
Aldred was one of many changes to last year’s squad, albeit he’s not quite a new face having returned for his second stint in the sunshine state.
But there’s definitely a different feeling around Brisbane this year compared to last, when they were best known for their abrasive style off the ball.
This season has seen them try a more possession-based approach, while continuing to show impressive fight throughout the game, something that Aldred appears to love.
“I just think he (Aldred) embodies everything the fans love about this Brisbane team, that grit and determination,” former Roar and Socceroos winger Tommy Oar said on Paramount+.
“He was involved in everything, giving every fibre of himself to try and get the equaliser, and you’ve got to say, his touch to set up the finish was brilliant, he showed a lot of composure in that moment.
“This is a different Brisbane Roar team,” said A-League premiership winner Daniel McBreen. “They dominated that.
“We spoke about it being almost like a training game, attack versus defence, because Auckland couldn’t get out.
“They (Brisbane) didn’t throw their game plan in the bin and start resorting to long balls and get desperate.
“I think it’s a huge endorsement, you’ve got to say, for Valkanis and the football he wants to play.”
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‘It’s hard to lose the points like we did’
Auckland head coach Pedro Moreira was understandably disappointed to have conceded so late, but struck a more positive note than many might have expected when he spoke on Paramount after the game.
That was mainly because he was pleased with how Friday night’s performance compared to last week’s, when the Black Knights were thrashed 5-2 by Western Sydney.
“It’s hard to lose the points like like we did, it’s really hard the moment that we suffer for the goal, because we don’t have a chance to have any answer at all,” Moreira said.
“I think it was very important to show a different face after the second half of the last game, not the first half, the second half of the last game, and the boys showed that today.
“We must improve the ball possession, we really must improve the quality in the possession moments.
“(But) the boys today show(ed) a really different face about last week and I’m happy for the effort, but it was really a pity the way that we suffered a goal in the last second – not last minute, last second.”
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