Love him or hate him, you can't ignore South Melbourne's livewire striker Con Boutsianis.
Boutsianis scored twice, and South's Kiwi striker Vaughan Coveny South's third to confirm South's unshakeable hold on the last remaining Finals place, before Marconi's Shane Webb netted a goal four minutes from time that would be but cheerless consolation.
Boutsianis has been at South Melbourne on three separate occasions, flirting with clubs elsewhere, but it's in South's blue shirt he seems to do his more inspired work.
Both coaches highlighted the influence of Boutsianis' presence on the park in the after match media conference.
"One bloke, single-handedly, changed the game a fair bit," said Stallions coach Lee Sterry referring to Boutsianis.
"He's class," said South coach Eddie Krncevic. "He's been doing it since day one. I don't want to say too much because he's here (at the press-conference) and his head will swell up! You've got to give credit to the rest of the squad as well."
In a game going nowhere for all but the last moments of the first half, it was Boutsianis who brought the game and the 8,500-strong home crowd to life with surely the most perceptive of goals which can scarcely be believed, even upon repeated viewing.
As half-time beckoned, Boutsianis received a through-ball played by Mehmet Durakovic. Thirty metres out from goal, and with two Marconi defenders trying to close him down, Boutsianis spotted Stallions goalkeeper Michael Turnbull near the penalty spot, and decided to chance a lob. The ball was so well struck, it carried Turnbull with ease, dropping neatly on the line and into the net.
"The game changed at (that) minute," said Sterry after the game. "We played as strong as we could early on. We got caught ball-watching at the half-way line with the first goal. But (Boutsianis is) probably the only player in Australia that could do that."
"It's not a conventional shot," Boutsianis explained after the game. "It's a shot that you can afford to get a lot of height on because of the way the ball spins back."
Boutsianis' second ten minutes into the second half was as improbable, scored direct from a corner and into goal at the far post, Turnbull having barely got a hand to it on its way.
"I was surprised," said Boutsianis. "I didn't expect it to go in. When I take a corner, I just try to put the keeper under as much pressure as I can. Turnbull got a hand on it, but I think I'll still claim it."
And there is ample incentive for making the claim. Although Boutsianis thought at the time it was his 99th NSL goal, he was told upon leaving the pitch it was his 100th.
The corner was earnt after a storming run from Massimo Murdocca ended at the edge of the penalty-area when Chad Gibson unfairly intervened to bring him down and earn a caution from referee Mark Shield. The free-kick was in prime Boutsianis territory, so there was an expectant hush as Boutsianis positioned the ball.
On this occasion, Boutsianis' on-target strike was deflected over by Turnbull, but the consequences of conceding that corner were to leave Turnbull embarrassed.
The game and the Finals position was now firmly in South's keeping, and - as tellingly - out of Stallions' grasp. Marconi needed not just to win against South, but win by four or more goals to have its chances of playing further this season. Staring a two-goal deficit with forty minutes to play, and with prime goal-scorer Royce Brownlie pursuing a trial in England, the team must surely have recognised their season had ended. There was little heart in further battle, and most minds likely turned to off-season activities.
So it was little surprise that South ran rampant in the remainder of the game.
Just after the hour, Murdocca had another sparkling run, this time to the bye-line before looping a cross to the far-post over Turnbull's reach to Boutsianis, laying in wait. Boutsianis' header was cleared off the line by Michael Beauchamp as Turnbull was well beaten.
Midway through the half, captain Paul Trimboli sent Murdocca through at the edge of the penalty-area where the youngster struck first time but narrowly over.
Sterry brought substitute goalkeeper Bob Catlin on for this NSL stalwart's last game as a player with ten minutes remaining. It was a move applauded by the players and fans who had thought of him as a fixture in the league.
"It probably will be his last game in the National League. All the players totally respect him, even though they'd not met him before this (season). It was a send off for Bobby, and it was a mark of respect from everybody at the club."
Despite Catlin's appearance, South declined to go easy. Just a minute or so later, Coveny headed in after good lead-up work by Boutsianis and Murdocca to confirm South's dominance in this game, and send the side into the Finals when, a bare two months before, that outcome seemed fanciful.
Perhaps South's back-line relaxed at that point, and allowed Shane Webb to find some free space inside the penalty-area to shoot home after a fine move down the right. But as there was so little time remaining, the goal neither lifted Marconi's spirits, nor dampened the South celebrations on the pitch or in the terraces.
Steve Panopoulos had a late chance from a 20 metre shot which crashed off the bar, and a last-minute effort from Coveny went just over, when - had either been scored - would not have lead to a flattering scoreline given the nature of South's domination of play.
"I'm very relieved. It's been a long second half of the season, and to keep up the momentum we have is excellent," said Krncevic.
"Now we've just got to concentrate on our next task."
Sterry drew comfort in the season as a package, rather than looking to the South game when making his final comments as Marconi coach, departing as he does after his single season in charge.
"I'm just so proud of my blokes it's not funny. I think we've had a tremendous year. We've had six debutants - easily the youngest squad in the league if you take the whole squad. And Catlin jacks mine up to start with," he said. "When you look at the youth in this squad, and what experience they've gained this year, it's been invaluable."