Knights' coach Vlado Vanis was full of smiles after a free-kick practiced on the Knights' training ground delivered what proved to be the winning goal in a hard-fought battle against visitors Parramatta Power on Sunday.
"We were trying that (at training) maybe one hundred time this week," said Vanis. "I have to talk with a couple of my boys because they were smiling when (we practiced) that free-kick - they said it was not going to work."
Vanis said he picked up the idea from renowned coach Bobby Robson, now with English club Newcastle. "When (Robson) was with (Portuguese club) Porto, he scored twelve goals with this free-kick," said Vanis, obviously a student of the game.
Jason Vukadin's match-winner came after Mark Silic, making an impressive return to Knights Stadium, sent in a free-kick from wide to the left of goal to Kelic at the far post. Kelic nodded on to Vukadin inside the six-yard area but with his back to goal, and cleverly placed a backwards header through the arms of Power's evergreen goalkeeper Mike Gibson.
There was little Gibson could have done, so exposed was he as no defender had managed to get near Vukadin.
"Ivan got loose on the back-post, got up well and knocked the ball back in. Vukadin ducked inside and got a good little touch on it," said Gibson. "It's very hard to do anything about (a goal like that). We've just got to pick ourselves up for next week."
The goal was all the sweeter as it gave Knights the lead they never surrendered after Power's Olyroo Joel Griffiths had put Power ahead 37 minutes in, and veteran striker Ivan Kelic had levelled deep into first-half added time.
Griffiths' goal was due reward for Power's approach to the game. Both sides had ample opportunity to break the deadlock beforehand, but it took until Michael Santalab sent in a cross from the left which the Knights' defence failed to deal with, leaving Griffiths with a side-foot volley from six yards.
The goal gave the nervous home support some further anguish in a disappointing season by their standards, and left them wondering when their first win of 2000 would arrive. The anxiety dissipated slightly with the lifeline of the equaliser deep into first-half added time.
With the break looming, Kelic managed to find space to turn and rifle home low past Gibson from inside the six-yard box after a scramble.
Kelic had another fine game, well appreciated by his task-master coach Vanis. Vanis' assessment was only a short, but like many of his views, expressed directly, and straight to the point: "Kelic is like a wine older is better."
"We were against the wind in the first-half. (Knights) were putting a lot of pressure on us but I thought we were doing OK," said Power coach David Mitchell after the game. "To score a goal right on half-time gave them a lot of confidence and a big lift."
The big lift meant that in the second half, even facing the steady wind, Knights looked rarely troubled. It was therefore unsurprising that Knights crafted their winner from their training ground drill.
It was Knights first win since early December too long a time for the perennial champion team of less than a decade ago.
"We can beat any team in this League, and we can lose to any team. There's not any team that's so much better than us that we'd struggle against or cop four or five goals from," said Vanis.
But anxious moments had arrived again when Vukadin was dismissed with more than fifteen minutes remaining. The subsequent early end to Power player Walter Ardone's match just seven minutes later, restored the numerical balance.
Vukadin found the coach's appreciation of his goal substantially downgraded as a result of his dismissal. Referee Matthew Breeze, normally free with his card-display, was exceptionally reluctant to reach for his pocket throughout the contest. Oddly, given that there were eventually two dismissals, there was but a single yellow card.
Breeze's dismissal of Vukadin came after what seemed an innocuous moment as the ball went out of play for a Knights' goal-kick. A scuffle developed, and Jacob Burns and captain Richard Plesa ran to the referee seeking that he consult with the far side assistant. After a brief discussion with the flag-man, Breeze walked directly to Vukadin and produced the red card.
"(Vukadin) probably got sent off for spitting, I think," said Power coach David Mitchell. "He spat in the first-half and didn't get caught, in the second half he did."
"I haven't spoken with him yet," said Vanis. "Somebody told me it was for spitting and he's going to cop it from me if it's true."
Mitchell wasn't happy at Ardone's dismissal, being critical of Ardone rather than the referee. "Ardone was throwing the elbow I think Silic made a meal of it, but the intent was there I suppose."
The dismissal of Vukadin didn't cramp Knights' attacking forays, Zeljko Susa and Michael Reda stormed through the middle, setting free Zelic and posing difficult questions for Plesa and Joseph Vrkic. Too many times though, especially as the game's close drew near, the final pass could not be released otherwise an offside would have been called.
Power had one final opportunity to earn a point seven minutes from time. The hard-working Santalab had yet again launched a forward thrust down the left, sending in a cross which substitute John Angelucci dived to head goalwards. It was arrowing into the net, but at the last, goalkeeper Martin John got a hand to the ball to divert it for a corner. It was a superb save, and as much a match-winner as either of Knights' two goals.
"(John) made a world-class save just at the end, from Angelucci's header. We all thought that was going in," said Mitchell. "Credit to the keeper for that. But we didn't do enough in the second half apart from that to warrant getting the equaliser."