An absolute screamer from Alemao looked set to give United victory against their New Zealand visitors but Wellington levelled matters 12 minutes from the end when Adrian Caceres' cross/shot went in off Reds keeper Eugene Galekovic. 

When asked if the result had killed his club's hopes of making the finals this season, the coach was defiant. "No it's not, we'll be fighting right to the end, absolutely," said Vidmar.

Both sides were looking for a winner as the final whistle loomed, but despite the introduction of promising young pair Francesco Monterosso and Inseob Shin late on, the Reds were forced to take a point in what was the third successive 1-1 draw between the teams.

"I can't fault the effort. I thought the effort was fantastic, they really worked hard but unfortunately we couldn't get over the line," Vidmar said.

"We've got to keep plugging away. We can't throw anything away, we've still got to believe in it, I think the group still firmly believes in it, and if they keep playing like that I'm sure we'll get some more wins."

Reflecting on Alemao's memorable strike, Vidmar knew the Brazilian was capable of producing something special but admits he had no idea it would eventuate into one of the goals of the season.

"He (Alemao) has been pulling the trigger at training for quite awhile. Tonight was an unbelievable goal. When he hit it I didn't know where it was going to go, and all of a sudden it was in the back of the net," Vidmar added.

The Reds' next test comes with a tough away trip to face Sydney FC on December 27.