Parramatta Power did just enough against ten-man Knights to take the points in a game it should have expected to have won far more comfortably than by three goals to one, especially considering the third came in added time, and the second with barely fifteen minutes remaining.
Power opened the scoring midway through the half when Fernando Rech placed a header beyond the reach of Knights' goalkeeper Vilson Knezevic, only minutes after Knights' midfielder Billy Natsioulas had been red-carded for a dangerous tackle.
Second-half substitute Serkan Oksuz brought Knights back into the game shortly after the re-start, punishing Power for not taking control of the match earlier.
But Rech scored again just after the second-half's midpoint to regain the lead, and then his hat-trick in time added on.
"It was a good turn-around from last week," said Power assistant coach Manfred Shaeffer - standing in for a laryngitis-affected Nick Theodorakopoulos in the after-match media conference. "Things are falling back into place again (after the 1-4 loss to Perth Glory)."
"Our record (away from Sydney) hasn't been good, so we'll (be happy) to go home with the three points," Shaeffer said.
Melbourne Knights' giant goalkeeper Vilson Knezevic managed to pull off a hat-trick of excellent saves, but Knights did not have to rely solely on its last line of defence to keep from being over-powered.
"We had some great individual performances," said Knights' coach Ian Dobson after the game. "Roddy Vargas had his best game, Vilson (Knezevic) made three world-class saves, and Adrian Liejer showed maturity beyond his seventeen years."
Shaeffer too was full of praise for Knezevic. "He pulled off some fantastic saves. In the second half he was top."
Knights almost went a goal behind inside the first minute when Ante Milicic fetched onto a loose ball and hit the post, with Knezevic slow down and well-beaten. As it was the same passage of play Knights' defender Dario Matkovic sustained an injury and spent some time on the sidelines under treatment before gingerly making a return, but did not re-appear for the second-half. Damaged knee ligaments were diagnosed.
Natsioulas and the returning Solomon Islander Henry Fa'arodo combined well in a move of promise for Knights just before the quarter-hour mark, but the initiative came to a poor end when the ball reached Andrew Vargas. Vargas' ball forward was unconvincing, either as a cross or a shot.
Before ten minutes more had elapsed, two incidents arose which were to take the game out of Knights' reach. Natsioulas, who had been one of Knights' more creative players of recent weeks, received his marching orders for a studs-up tackle on Matt Thompson.
"I thought it was an extremely rough decision to make," said Dobson. "And that obviously changed the whole (nature) of the game. Natsioulas has been one of the better players over the last sixteen weeks."
"It's happened to us before," said Shaeffer. "These things happen."
And then to compound the misery for the home side, Rech headed Power into the lead, converting a cross from the hard-working Andre Gumprecht shortly afterwards.
Power played well within itself for the remainder of the half, when a bolder approach would surely have been profitable, not the least because of the closeness of Power's and the chasing South Melbourne's respective goal-differences. As it was, Lucas Pantelis squandered what was Power's most likely chance, after some Milicic magic. The veteran striker set Pantelis free with a nice touch at the edge of the penalty-area after sustained Power possession had probed for an opening. But Pantelis' strike was wayward.
This was to prove costly for Power. Matkovic was withdrawn by Dobson at the break, and Oksuz came on as a striker in his place, and made an immediate impact. Andrew Vargas took a quick free-kick on the right sending a ball high into the area. Andrew Marth - played once again as a striker - was unaccountably allowed a free header which he played into the path of Oksuz. Oksuz gleefully accepted the chance and from three-metres, sent it past a wrong-footed Clint Bolton for an unexpected equaliser.
"We showed a lot of character and resilience to stay in the game," said Dobson.
Power's profligacy in front of goal continued. Rech was in despair just four minutes later after Knezevic brought off the save of the day, making a one-handed block to divert over the bar a thunderous drive after Rech had taken a step inside at the edge of the penalty-area following a clever ball from the right from Peter Zorbas.
Knezevic thwarted Milicic mid-way through the half with another fine save, this time diving to his right to prevent Milicic's goal-bound shot from 20 metres.
Rech could scarcely fail to convert his next opportunity, delivered as it was direct to his feet within a metre of the goal. Clever work from Power had worked the ball down the right before a quick switch to an untended Zorbas on the left. With plenty of time, Zorbas measured a shot to the far post, beating the diving Knezevic, and falling perfectly for Rech's tap-in.
Knezevic again made a fine save from a Milicic point-blank header from a Zorbas cross, but could do little about Rech's hat-trick, again from close-in, converting a cross from the right.
Despite the loss, and what was a trying week for the Knights - refused entry by the VSF to the Premier League which shortly commences, and in the light of Knights' decision not to be a contender for an NSL spot next season - Dobson was up-beat. "I'm proud of what the players put out today. Everyone should be proud of what those youngsters put in for this club today."