Sydney FC twice came from behind late on to earn a 3-3 draw with Melbourne Victory in the A-League this morning.

Substitute Shane Smeltz scored a second-half brace to deny Melbourne the three points, but they still replace Perth Glory at the top of the table on goal difference.

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The hosts took an eighth-minute lead at the Allianz Stadium as Marc Janko converted from the spot following a Jason Geria foul inside the box.

Sydney maintained their advantage until after the half-hour mark, but a quickfire double saw Melbourne turn things around before the break.

Kosta Barbarouses combined with Besart Berisha to level the scores on 34 minutes with his third in as many games, before supplying Guilherme shortly afterwards.

A second penalty gave Sydney the chance to regain parity and Smeltz had by that time come off the bench in time to beat Nathan Coe from 12 yards on 75 minutes.

Melbourne were back in front three minutes later as Nick Ansell bagged his first A-League goal, but prolific striker Smeltz snatched mid-table Sydney a point with a close-range header as the clock wound down.