The Wallabies have pulled off a miraculous second Test escape act to break British and Irish hearts at Etihad Stadium and keep coach Robbie Deans in his job following a 16-15 victory.

Lions fans were poised to celebrate the end of a 16-year drought leading with radar boot Leigh Halfpenny lining up a match-winning 50m penalty attempt on fulltime but the Welsh fullback dramatically left it short.

It handed Australia an epic win and sends the nerve-wracking series into a decider at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium next Saturday night.

Highlighting the closeness between the two sides, it’s the second straight week a missed penalty at the death has cost the result.

Halfpenny had kicked five from six before then and had put the Lions into a 15-9 lead with 18 minutes left of the brutal encounter in front of a ground record crowd of 56,775.

Australia had appeared to pull the game out of the fire when James O’Connor, who again endured a mixed display at No.10, put Adam Ashley-Cooper over for the only try of the match with five minutes left.

Christian Lealiifano, who finished with four from four with the boot, coolly stepped up and slotted the angled conversion for the one-point lead.

The Wallabies had probed hard throughout but largely failed to get the ball to superstar winger Israel Folau, before he lit up the match in the final 15 minutes.

It was one of Folau’s bursts into the Lions 22 which laid the platform for Ashley-Cooper’s pivotal try.

While Folau was again the most dangerous player on the ground, halfback Will Genia overcame knee soreness to be a justified man of the match.