As the ball rolled back to Tyson Holmes, waiting on the edge of the area, it was as if time was in slow motion. The finishing touch was clinical, fired towards the bottom left corner, beyond the despairing dive of Kieron Gonzalez. The ball bulged the back of the net. Cue delirium.
A stand full of South Melbourne fans erupted in joy, having wondered if the moment was ever going to come. Some ran down to the fence to celebrate, as coaches and substitutes jumped around everywhere.
It was the moment when South Melbourne set up a mouth-watering Finals derby against eternal rivals, Melbourne Knights. And all this after yet another season that threatened to end in more disappointment.
“It’s a wonderful feeling when you score the winner in the 91st minute. Credit all round to the boys, we’ve stuck to the task and come away with the result,” said a proud South Melbourne coach in Chris Taylor.
His side had dominated the clash against Green Gully, easily on top in the shot and possession count. Even a missed penalty from Brad Norton didn’t matter in the end, as profligacy in front of goal from both sides became the story of the night right up till the final whistle.
“We knew what we were up for and I think we missed a few chances early on but the longer the game went on the more that they came into the game and they looked like they were dangerous on the break as well. And then when we missed the penalty I thought it’s just not our day today,” Taylor said.
The penalty was controversially awarded by the referee after initially playing on, but much to the delight of the home fans, the referee decided to consult with his linesman following the awarding of a foul to Green Gully soon after. A roar from the crowd greeted the change in decision, and Brad Norton, who had only been on the pitch for a couple of minutes stepped up to take it.
He shot to Gonzalez’s right. The keeper guessed correctly, and caught the ball with consummate ease.
Having set up to catch South Melbourne on the counter attack, Green Gully were proving difficult to break down, and after a few spurned opportunities, there was a feeling the home side would ultimately pay for not taking their chances.
“We had 3 or 4 decent chances and when you’re creating chances – Green Gully are an experienced side, they’re experienced finals campaigners. When you’re creating those sort of chances and don’t put them away, it generally comes back to bite you on the bum and it didn’t happen,” Taylor said.
Just as predicted, the travelling side almost did make them pay for their inability to convert their opportunities.
Minutes before the penalty, Green Gully spurned a golden chance of their own as Jason Hayne latched onto a long pass down the right flank, drove into the box but instead of pulling the trigger, elected to set up teammate Hamid Basma. South Melbourne keeper Peter Gavalas couldn’t believe his luck and pounced on the ball to deny Green Gully.
The shot count was highly in favour of South Melbourne, and that situation was not isolated, as Green Gully were trigger shy in promising areas.
Early in the game South Melbourne had a golden chance when Luke Hopper broke free into the box, and had his effort saved by Gonzalez, who was definitely the busier of the two keepers on the night.
Nick Epifano also had a great chance to open the scoring on the half hour mark, but he saw his drilled effort clip the outside of the post much to the frustration of many in Lakeside Stadium.
Even Trent Rixon couldn’t find the back of the net, as he watched his header on the hour drift wide of the post, leaving the feeling he probably could have done better.
Yet, it all mattered little at the final whistle, as a last gasp chance for Green Gully saw them miss from within the six yard box, meaning the goal from Holmes was decisive.