Football: Wellington Phoenix denied late penalty in 1-1 A-League draw with Brisbane Roar

A controversial no-call from the referee has denied Wellington Phoenix an injury-time penalty in their 1-1 draw with Brisbane Roar.

The 'Nix looked to have secured all three A-League points at a wet McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, but an 85th-minute goal from Roar substitute GolGol Mebrathu cancelled out Tomer Hemed's first-half strike.

The Phoenix had the better of the first spell, creating several goalscoring opportunities, but couldn't trouble Jamie Young in the Roar goal.

But Hemed broke the deadlock with three minutes remaining in the half, after excellent build-up play from the Phoenix.

Reno Piscopo and James McGarry combined down the left-hand side, with Hemed making the most of a fluffed Roar clearance to slot the ball into the bottom right corner.

But the Phoenix couldn't grab a crucial second goal, wasting a mountain of possession and slowly allowing the Roar back into the game.

Brisbane came close on several occasions, only to be denied by Oli Sail between the sticks for the 'Nix, but Mebrathu's headed goal five minutes from time drew the Roar level.

A late red card against Macaulay Gillesphey gave the Roar a scare and they were relieved to escape with a point, after an apparent handball went unpunished by both the referee and the video referee.

Japanese import Riku Danzaki lifted his hand inside the area and made contact with the ball, after a clearance from one of his defenders.

But despite pleas by the Phoenix players and a second look from the video referee, the action was cleared.

The Roar survived a late headed effort from Tim Payne and the points were shared.

The Phoenix's frustrating season continues, as they scored just their 12th point of the season, with their record now three wins, three draws and six losses.