South Melbourne defeated reigning Champions Olympic Sharks in a ten-goal thriller - seven by half-time - at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday, putting South in the six for the first time this season. South was three goals up within fifteen minutes in a start that was as devastating as it was incredible, and despite this huge start, confirmed its grip on the game only with the aid of a late penalty.
"Apart from the result it was just a tremendous game," said South coach Danny Wright after the match. "Full credit should go to both sets of players. People say Australian soccer is boring - well if they come out here (to Bob Jane Stadium) they won't see boring soccer. They'll see great attacking soccer, with tremendous goals, which is what we saw today."
"(The game) was like two outstanding boxers, just going toe-to-toe."
South's precociously-talented young striker Michael Baird - fast proving a crowd favourite - netted twice before the half, and was joined on the scoresheet by Peter Buljan, man-of-the-match Vaughan Coveney with two - one being that decisive penalty, and Steve Panopoulos.
Andrew Packer, Ante Milicic, Troy Halpin, and Tom Pondeljak scored for Olympic in a four-goal haul that Sharks should reasonably have expected to have been a game-winning one.
I caught up with Sharks' coach Gary Phillips by telephone on the team bus as dashed to Melbourne airport for the flight home to beat the Sydney airport close-down. "They're coach-killers, those sort of games," he said. "The penalty was probably what earnt South Melbourne its three points."
Baird had opened the game with a bang just two minutes in, turning in a low cross from the right from Buljan who had skipped an ineffective challenge from Sharks captain Ante Juric chasing a through-ball.
South doubled its advantage six minutes later when Vince Lia's cross from the right was headed down by Robert Liparoti at the far-post to where Buljan bundled the ball over with a header of his own.
The whirlwind start had Sharks reeling, and if that was not enough to get the home support enthused, Kiwi international Coveney put South three up before the quarter-hour. Stand-in captain Panopoulos was in space at the edge of the penalty-area with Coveney to his left and fed the lanky striker the ball. Coveney had time to receive, turn inside and send a right-foot shot low into the net at the near-post.
Panopoulos himself netted South's fourth after Fausto De Amicis had made good ground up the left and crossed to the far-post where Baird headed down into the path of the dynamic midfielder whose left-foot drilled shot sped past the punch-drunk Clint Bolton. And this before the first half's mid-point had been reached.
"We obviously didn't get enough sleep last night," said Phillips. "Because we slept for the first forty-five minutes."
"(Sharks) got exposed pretty badly," said Wright after the game. "That wasn't surprising to me, but it was surprising that we punished them the way we did."
Just when it seemed that the game would be an embarrassing mismatch, Sharks managed to get itself on the scoreboard when Packer headed in a regulation set-piece from a well-struck Halpin corner, seemingly untroubled by any South defender.
The high-energy game continued to produce goal-chances, as both teams seemed to have decided that there was more fun in scoring than defending.
Sharks had good opportunities through Pondeljak and Joel Porter, and South through Coveney, Baird, and Buljan, but the remainder of the first half had seemed quiet in comparison to its opening, until its last minutes. First Baird hammered home a volley from a Coveney cross launched after Coveney galloped past a static Jade North up the left, restoring South's amazing four-goal cushion.
But Sharks' experienced striker Milicic kept his team from being blown completely away with an audacious 25 metre lob of South goalkeeper Dean Anastasiadis just before the end of the half's standard time. Referee Mark Shield however had to extend the period by three minutes to take account of the half's unbelievable haul of seven goals.
The second-half could only suffer in comparison, and it took fully fifteen minutes for the next goal to arrive. Halpin brought Sharks to within two goals with a pile-driver of a volley from the edge of the penalty-area after a clever pull-back from wide.
South signalled its intentions to hold on and protect this lead when Baird was withdrawn for defender Steve Iosifidis with twenty minutes remaining. Sharks had elected to go for broke, playing with a four-man front-line and by-passing midfield. "I probably would have (preferred) to keep Baird on the park but he was cramping up," said Wright. "I thought he had an outstanding game."
Halpin had claims for a goal scored direct from a corner turned down. The sharp in-swinger required Anastasiadis to make a desperate punch at full-stretch to clear.
Phillips was certain the ball had crossed the line. "That might have taken it to five-all," he said. "(It went over the line) no question. Anastasiadis ended up in the back of the net well and truly."
Stand-side and FIFA-qualified assistant referee Jim Ouliaris however was perfectly placed to see along the goal-line and gave no signal that it had been crossed.
Just when it seemed Sharks had run themselves dry chasing the match, Pondeljak put the game back in the balance with a thunderbolt 30 metre pile-driver out of nothing bringing Sharks - incredibly - within one goal and with five minutes left to play. But Coveney brought the scoring to an end and confirmed the South victory just two minutes later from the penalty-spot after he himself had been brought down.
"There was no coming back from there," said Phillips.