Newcastle Jets confirmed this could well be its season after running out comfortable three-one winners against a disappointing Melbourne Victory at Docklands on Sunday evening, almost certainly ending Melbourne's Championship defence.
Joel Griffiths' double, including a fabulous free-kick, was well timed, and would have impressed the new Australia coach Pim Verbeek in attendance at the game, and on the look-out for talent to represent Australia in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Costa Rican Carlos Hernandez put Victory ahead after eleven minutes, ghosting onto an Adrian Caceres cross from the right.
Denni levelled just before the interval after Matt Thompson had found him clear at the far post. Joel Griffiths showed you don't have to be South American to bend a free-kick around a wall to put Jets in front nine minutes after the break. Griffiths got his second with fifteen minutes remaining and had a good chance to net more in a man-of-the-match performance to which Victory could provide no adequate response.
"It was very pleasing," said Jets' coach Gary van Egmond. "The spirit and character of the team showed up pretty well today."
"We knew it was going to be a difficult game, and (that there) was a lot of pressure on Melbourne," he said. "It gave us a lot of impetus to get a result."
"Now we've got to rely on teams (above us) losing (to make the Finals)," said Victory coach Ernie Merrick after the game. "There's incredible disappointment in the change-rooms. We all feel we've let the fans down."
"It was a terrific first half. Considering how much possession we had, to be one-all (at half-time) - that was pretty hard to take," he said. "And then conceding a goal from a free-kick - the heads went down a little bit (but) I don't think at any stage they gave up."
The home crowd's nerves were a-jangle, such was the tight-rope Melbourne was balancing on, but settled a little just eleven minutes in. Leigh Broxham had played a sharp diagonal ball to Caceres on the right. Caceres cut inside onto his preferred left foot before sending in a low cross to the near post. Hernandez slipped quietly between Jets' captain Jade North and his central defensive colleague Andrew Durante who should have made a better job of marking, getting his boot to divert the ball wide of Ante Covic and into the net.
It had been a bright opening with both sides looking to take the upper-hand early. Newcastle knew that a win or draw would mean Melbourne was dropped from Finals contention, leaving one less rival for post-season action. For Melbourne, the equation was clear: anything other than a win would mean a Championship defence was possible only in the pages of a Boys' Own Annual.
Merrick's bench reinforced this imperative - all three outfield substitutes were forwards, and all were fielded by the time Matthew Breeze blew for full-time.
History was with Newcastle - if there was a side which Melbourne had struggled against it was the Jets. It would have been Melbourne's least favoured choice for an opponent in the circumstances. Indeed, Merrick's own program notes made mention of this, a matter which van Egmond referred to in the after-match media conference.
"I read in the program," said van Egmond. "I don't know if I would have done that. It buoys our players that they do fear us."
The game was entertaining from the start. Despite going one behind, Newcastle's diminutive left-winger Denni had twice sped by the Victory midfield only for his shooting to let him down. At the other end, Archie Thompson reminded the Jets' defence of the need to keep him under watch. By game's end, North could be pleased with a job well done. Archie Thompson had been a constant threat, but had not crafted many clear-cut opportunities.
Indeed, Newcastle was able to withstand repeated Victory forays and managed to equalise four minutes from the break, putting Melbourne's season on a knife-edge again. Joel Griffiths sent a pass to Matt Thompson whose run took him behind and clear of Danny Vasilevski. With options now plentiful, Matt Thompson lifted the ball high to the far post to where Danni ran, untroubled by any defender, allowing him to half-volley the ball high into the net to silence the crowd.
Merrick brought on the experienced Nick Ward for Kaz Patafta after the interval in an effort to get more of a cutting edge. Patafta had worked hard and energetically in his time on the park, but too often delayed or ran into a dead end.
Newcastle however gave Ward an even tougher assignment when it took the lead within ten minutes of the re-start. Kevin Muscat had felled James Holland who was shaping to shoot directly in front of goal about 30 yards out. With the wall standing on the edge of the penalty-area, Joel Griffiths bent the ball around it and into the top right corner.
It later transpired that Griffiths had taken the kick despite his coach's insistence that he leave it to Holland.
"Holland does practice, and he's had some success from that area," said van Egmond. "But I did the same thing (for the free-kick Griffiths scored) against Queensland, and told Joel not to take that one as well."
"I was hearing (van Egmond) saying 'don't take it', so I didn't hear him," said the scorer. "I hit it pretty nicely. It's something I brought to my game this year."
Merrick then brought on Danny Allsopp for Caceres. Victory's season was on the line. Allsopp had extracted Victory from peril in critical games the previous season, and much rested upon his shoulders to keep this season alive.
North scrambled Archie Thompson's shot from an acute angle off his own line after the Victory favourite had beaten a square defence from Hernandez' pass, rounding Covic on his way.
Hernandez then had a chance to show that whatever Joel Griffiths could do from a set shot, so could he, but fired over instead.
But Joel Griffiths put the contest beyond doubt with fifteen minutes to go after Allsopp had lost possession in a tussle near the touchline before Tarek Elrich fired the ball to the Jets' front-runner who shrugged off the double challenge of Sebastian Ryall and Andy Vargas and shooting low left beyond the despairing dive of Michael Theoklitos.
Shortly after, he could have made it a hat-trick, his header from Mark Bridge's cross only just carrying the bar. Matt Thompson's throw was down the line and Bridge had time to take it to the goal-line before sending back a well-directed cross for Griffiths' head.
But the win was already in the bag by then, and surely Griffiths had done enough to impress Pim Verbeek in the stand.