Top-class strikers are as rare as Tasmanian tigers in the A-League right now, and Joel Griffiths showed his worth with an injury-time winner for Newcastle Jets against an impotent Queensland Roar at Lang Park on Friday night.
With 90 minutes played 99 percent of the crowd, and I suspect most of the players, were ready to call it a night, and contemplate the meaning of a second successive 0-0 draw for the Roar, this time against their bogey team Newcastle.
But Tarek Elrich was still battling for the ball, deep into Queensland territory on the right touchline.
Elrich got forward all game from right fullback to provide service into the box for his strikers. His first cross in the 5th minute of the game ended up in Row Z. That was just a range finder. The next five all went dangerously to the back post, where portly Mario Jardel was lurking in the first half, and Griffiths in the second half.
With no time left on the clock, Elrich got free in the corner and yet again whipped in a cross to the far post.
In the build-up to this game, the Roar's Stuart McLaren and Frank Farina and just about everyone else had mentioned Joel Griffiths as the Newcastle dangerman. It was no secret.
McLaren had limped off the field just a minute before. Sasa Ognenovski had moved up front to throw his weight around in the faint hope of snatching a winner for the home team. That left Josh McCloughan and Ben Griffin on central defensive duties for the Roar.
But Joel Griffiths was the quickest to react to Elrich's outswinging cross. Griffin and McCloughan couldn't find the energy or the awareness to stick with him, and it was the right fullback Hyuk-su Seo who jumped with Griffiths.
Griffiths had the height, the jump, the awareness, the heading technique and the hunger needed to score the goal. Queensland's defence could not match him, particularly in the hunger stakes.
Roar keeper Liam Reddy was left exposed by his defence as the header found the corner of the net.
The winner sparked a call from Jets coach Gary Van Egmond to include Griffiths in the Socceroos squad for the forthcoming Asian group World Cup qualifiers. On a night in which both sides just about cancelled each other out, Joel Griffiths was the difference, and perhaps he could do the same for Australia.
The result was disappointing for Queensland fans, who had earlier seen their team waste a perfectly good penalty opportunity. Matt McKay - always a willing workhorse, along with his partner-in-crime Massimo Murdocca - worked his way into the box with a good one-two, and was brought down from behind by Andrew Durante.
Up stepped Simon Lynch for the penalty. I suppose it's good to have a centre forward who wants to take the responsibility of taking penalties. Reinaldo had converted Queensland's previous penalty, against Wellington on 11 November. But Lynch had replaced Reinaldo just before the hour in this game.
Lynch's penalty attempt lacked real force, and was comfortably saved by Ante Covic, who guessed correctly which way the shot was going.
And that was that. Despite this writer filling page after page of his very small notebook during the game, none of it amounted to anything worth reporting. Both sides attempted to play good football, but the final pass or shot was most often missing on this occasion.
Stuart Musialik was at the heart of most of Newcastle's better moments, and as I have already mentioned, McKay and Murdocca were their usual consistently good selves.
Danny Tiatto had a fine game for Queensland at left back, and I hope that Farina persists with him in that role, as it gives Queensland real drive down the left side of the field.
Reinaldo, Kruse, Marcinho and Lynch were all disappointing for Queensland.
The Roar have a longer preparation time for their next home game, against league leaders Central Coast Mariners on 9 December. The Mariners also failed to score points in the A-League this weekend, as their match was postponed.
So the Roar still have a chance to put pressure on the table-toppers at Lang Park next Sunday, but it will take a sharper performance than this one to make it happen.