Perth Glory have broken their Asian Champions League duck after a late Neil Kilkenny penalty secured them a 3-3 draw against Shanghai Shenhua in Qatar.
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In a spiteful match, Glory raced to a 2-0 lead courtesy of majestic free kicks from Bruno Fornaroli and Carlo Armiento either side of half-time.
But three goals in the space of 11 minutes from Shanghai turned the match on its head, before Kilkenny nailed a penalty in the 86th minute to ensure a share of the spoils.
The second half was particularly heated, and Shanghai substitute Cao Yunding was red carded after the final whistle as tempers continued to flare.
Glory had failed to secure a point from their four previous matches in the tournament, with two of those ending in heartbreak at the death.
And although Perth already knew they were no hope of advancing past the group stage, Monday's result will at least give them something to build on heading into the A-League season.
Glory created a series of golden opportunities in the first half against their more fancied opponents.
Daniel Stynes and Dane Ingham wasted their chances by firing their shots straight at the goalkeeper.
But Fornaroli made no mistake when given the chance on the stroke of half-time, curling his 24-yard free kick into the top corner of the net.
The second half was delayed by five minutes following bizarre scenes on the sidelines.
Glory defender Nicholas Walsh, who wears the No.5 jersey, changed his blood-stained jumper to No.42 for the second half.
But officials didn't allow him to wear a different number, meaning he had to put on his original jersey and try to cover the blood with tape, which kept falling off.
When play finally restarted, tempers threatened to boil over when Shanghai's Stephane Mbia tunnelled Fornaroli.
Diego Castro remonstrated with Mbia, and Mbia got so upset he even started arguing with his own teammates as they tried to cool him down.
Armiento entered the fray in the 57th minute, and his first act was pure gold as he curled in his free-kick.
But in the blink of an eye Glory lost the lead.
Giovanni Moreno's close-range header got the ball rolling in the 62nd minute, and he added a second in the 72nd.
One minute later, Yu Hanchao curled a low ball from just outside the box to give Shenhua the lead.
But the game had one final twist when Armiento was brought down by Mbia in the box.
Kilkenny made no mistake from the spot, and a frantic finished was followed by angry exchanges from Shanghai players after the final whistle.
Australian Associated Press
