Dario Vidosic's added-time winner, after Archie Thompson had levelled the scores with ten minutes remaining following Damian Mori's opening goal midway through the first half, gave Queensland Roar the win it badly needed. Roar's Finals hopes are alive.
But it was the debuting Roar goalkeeper Tando Velaphi who was man of the match, pulling off a series of saves which belied his youth and inexperience and provided the base from which Roar constructed its win.
Roar coach Frank Farina naturally was ebullient in the after-match media conference. His side has a fighting chance to be involved in post-season action, and its form coming into the Finals is promising.
"It doesn't come any better, (winning) in the 92nd or 93rd minute," he said after the game. "To come to Melbourne and win is very pleasing."
"It puts us right back in (Finals contention)."
Victory coach Ernie Merrick is normally dispassionate in his post-match analysis. This time, however, his mood was dark. His anger was controlled, but the rage was tangible none-the-less.
"We can't have that many individuals, from our captain to our strikers (and) defenders, down on their game. We have to make sure that doesn't happen in the Finals," he said. "There (were) about eight players very flat today."
"It was all disjointed. (There was) poor inter-passing through the midfield, poor quality balls to the strikers. Our fans are out in enormous numbers, and we let (them) down. If (the players) don't feel like producing their best performance for our fans, then (the players) shouldn't turn up."
"Credit to Queensland. They came here for the three points and they got (them). The young goalkeeper was outstanding. How good was he?" he said.
Queensland's adventurous play meant the win was well warranted with winners at both ends of the park. Mori's scoring prowess is well known - the veteran player having been a potent weapon at a number of clubs in the old NSL as well as a fair swag of those in the new. But it was the debuting Roar goalkeeper Tando Velaphi who was man of the match, pulling off a series of saves which belied his youth and inexperience.
"(Velaphi) did himself a huge favour tonight in terms of his career," said Farina. "It'll surprise me if he's not first choice keeper (back in Perth) next year."
Roar captain Josh McCloughan had a similar assessment. "He was absolutely superb. He'll go a long way."
With Melbourne's sports followers' attentions also drawn to an international cricket match at the MCG, taking 80,000 out of circulation, Victory's attendance of 28,937 was remarkable evidence of how well the team had become an integral part of the Melbourne sports scene.
But the vast attendance was silenced 18 minutes in when Mori took advantage of a defensive slip. The crowd had just begun its trademark aural Mexican wave - this time, even more geographically-challenged than usual. Mori took advantage of Steve Pantelidis being wrong-footed by a clever through pass from Matthew McKay. Mori emphatically buried his left-foot shot past an exposed Michael Theoklitos from close-range.
Mori's goal was due reward for Roar's approach to the match. Often visiting sides sit back and insist that Victory make the play, but Queensland was much more adventurous. Its season hung in the balance.
Shortly before the goal, and as sign of attacks to come, Mori and McKay had almost pulled off a quick goal from a break which left first Vince Lia, then Simon Storey scrambling to cover and clear.
And shortly after Mori's opener, only a last-ditch save from Theoklitos prevented McKay from extending the lead. Spase Dilevski played a ball in, diverted on its path by Mori handily to McKay, leaving the hard-pressed Victory defence chasing shadows. Theoklitos was grateful to block for a corner.
But it was not one-way traffic. In between these Roar forays, Adrian Caceres played a one-two with Fred to his left leaving him in space inside the penalty-area, only to shoot wildly off target.
Both Mori and Pantelidis later had extended periods off the pitch under the blood rule - Mori emerging with a bandage circling his face to stem bleeding under his chin and looking rather as if he were wearing a slipped halo, Pantelidis with wads of cotton unattractively stuffed up his badly broken nose until he too emerged at the start of the second half with a Mori-mimicking wrap.
As these two players continued to mark each other until Pantelidis' substitution, the effect was as if they were staging a private commemoration of the famous Christmas Day truce match played in no-man's land during World War One between the front-line troops. The effect was especially pronounced when they contested headers against each other.
On-loan Velaphi had weathered an early Victory storm, making two confidence-building saves within a minute to deny first Caceres, then Kevin Muscat. Velaphi touched Caceres's shot over for a corner, from which Muscat sent his header arrowing goalwards, only to be touched onto the bar by the Olyroo goalkeeper, allowing his defence to scramble clear.
It was another touch from Velaphi which diverted a low cross from Thompson away from the on-rushing Kristian Sarkies who surely would have converted with the slightest of touches. Shortly after, Velaphi's dive allowed him to reach and turn wide a long-range shot from Caceres. This young goalkeeper was clearly unfazed by the circumstances of his debut. The Victory support began to doubt whether Velaphi would be beaten.
Queensland's continued adventurism kept the game nicely balanced and resulted in yet another corner, this time swung in by McKay to Reinaldo's head and only just over the bar with Theoklitos nowhere.
The bright play continued in the second half. Thompson's trickery early was denied when Velaphi again diverted around the post, and Kevin Muscat placed a long-range shot following a hastily cleared ball which went narrowly over the bar.
Queensland continued to press. Massimo Murdocca seemed to have conjured up space for a clear shot on goal, but sent it too high. And Ante Milicic will probably still be wondering how he failed to convert from close range after a cross from Ben Griffin flashed across the face of goal to where Milicic stood.
Just as the home crowd resigned itself to another game where Victory's rewards were slight, but never stinted in its encouragement, Thompson equalised. Fred lofted his cross from the right, cleverly cutting out Roar's central defence and requiring Griffin to make an overly-hasty clearance. It fell kindly for Thompson whose scooped shot crashed into the net, redoubling the volume within the stadium.
Incoming substitute Leigh Broxham, who had been playing for lowly Knox City in the lower reaches of Victoria's State League only a few months beforehand then brought out another game-saving intervention from Velaphi after a pile-driver from 25 metres.
But the telling touch came in added time when Vidosic converted from close-range, leaving the massive Victory support deflated once again. Vidosic was on the end of a good move involving an exchange of passes firstly between Murdocca and Reinaldo, then a cross by Griffin. Milicic got a touch which allowed Vidosic to fend off the attentions of Vince Ferrante and poke his shot wide of Theoklitos and in low by the post.