Heat the only winner as Wollongong Wolves snatch late goal against St George

David Carney's side had the better chances throughout, but a lapse in concentration at the back saw the visitors open the scoring in the 80^th minute.

City substitute Paolo Mitry was given acres of space in the box and made the Wolves pay.

It looked for all money that St George would steal all three points, but that was until Wolves vice-captain Banri Kanaizumi rose highest from a set piece in injury time to equalise.

It brought massive scenes of celebrations for the home crowd in the Wolves' first home game of the season at Albert Butler Memorial Park.

But the real story of the day was the tough conditions that both Wolves and St George players were dealt.

For the second week running the Wolves have had their game dramatically affected by the hot summer-like temperatures.

The Wolves played out a 0-0 draw against St George at Albert Butler Memorial Park with temperatures at 30 degrees at the 3pm kick-off time.

It was a similar story in their 2-1 away win against Sydney United in round two.

Whilst it is a 30 round season and the majority of games will be played in the winter, the first month of the season being played in and then just out of summer has made it tough going for the players on the pitch.

A drinks break was taken midway through both halves in order to give the players a much needed rest, but there is no doubt that the heat has played a factor in the Wolves' last two fixtures.

Whilst scheduling is a difficult task for a multitude of reasons, having the players facing off in extreme heat not only affects the quality of the game, but makes it dangerous for those on the field. It's an issue not just facing Football NSW, but at the A-League level as well.

The Wolves were certainly the stronger of the two teams in the first half, with the best chances falling to Jake Trew and Takumi Ofuka.

Trew found himself in space running in behind the defence and unleashed a shot on the half-volley that clattered into the post and out, meanwhile it was a similar situation for Ofuka, who forced a save out of St George stopper Jack Kenny.

St George weren't without their chances, but the Wolves very much edged the half in front of their home fans.

The deadlock could not be broken however and the score was 0-0 at half-time.

As the game seemed to be heading towards a draw, Mitry made the Wolves pay for their missed chances, scoring to make it 1-0.

Kanaizumi rescued a point for the home side however in injury time, leaping high from a Chris McStay set piece to head home and see the game finish 1-1.

"They are a tough opponent, we lost against them twice last year," Kanaizumi said.

"It was a great effort last weekend [against Sydney Untied] but we probably lacked a bit of confidence today and we were a bit flat.

"If we play at home we also want to take home three points. But it's a long season and we take a point. It is better than nothing."

It is a quick turn around for David Carney's side. They will take on main rivals Sutherland at Seymour Shaw on Wednesday, March 6.