Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer saved an 89th-minute penalty to help an injury-depleted Australia side scrape a 0-0 draw against China in their Asian World Cup qualifier in Kunming on Wednesday.
The veteran Middlesbrough stopper went from villain to hero in the space of a minute, saving Shao Jiayi's spot kick after he had brought down Chinese striker Qu Bo in the penalty area.
Schwarzer's heroics were the counterpoint to a disappointing display from China, whose strikers missed a number of goal-scoring opportunities in a largely defensive and scrappy encounter.
Zhu Ting failed to capitalise on several early chances, volleying over the bar twice from close range, while Zheng Zhi's mistimed 35th-minute strike allowed Schwarzer time to scramble across his line and prevent the hosts from taking the lead.
Already short of options up front, Australia's injury woes were compounded when striker Archie Thompson was forced off after just eight minutes.
While the visitors will be happy to take a one point from the tough away match, China, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Iraq in Dubai last month, need to beat Asian Games champions Qatar to get their stuttering World Cup qualifying campaign back on track.