Mens Capital 2 – The Gap 3-2 Oxley
Off the back of a horrendous seven-match run of defeats, a makeshift Gap side overturned all the odds and beat a side fighting for promotion in a stunning night of football drama at Walton Bridge.
Relegation was looking a reality as we went 1-0 down against the run of play in the first half. The lads' total commitment was on display throughout as they showed a real never-say-die attitude. The game had everything, including keeper Danny Cody pulling up with an injury in the pre-match warm up, and young Clinton Redman making two stunning one-on-one saves to keep us in the game in the second half.
Skipper Cormac Molloy then took charge and changed the course of the game, aided by Jamie Gillespie. With time ticking away, Jamie hit a long pass to Cormac, and then sped up the line looking for the overlap, and a perfectly timed pass from Cormac sent Jamie into space and he ran on, drew the keeper, and hit a cracking shot into the corner of the net.
Ten minutes later that man Cormac again made a foraging run from defence which ended with him being scythed down in the box for a penalty.
The clubhouse erupted when Keith McGuire calmly sent the keeper the wrong way to send us 2-1 up, but the drama was only just starting.
Oxley equalised when they capitalised on an error, and then with only 10 minutes to go, the linesman called over the ref and the Gap's young keeper was sent off for swearing, which was a cruel case of mistaken identity, as he never said a word. This left us having to take off an outfielder to send an injured Danny Cody in goals to try and hold on for a point.
Both sides pushed on trying to score, and fingernails were worn down praying for some much-needed good luck to get our first point in two months.
With the clock ticking down, Michael Cardillo made a run into the box, sidestepped a defender who left his leg in and the ref pointed to the spot, to send our supporters wild.
Keith McGuire then showed nerves of steel, as most of the wags on the balcony put their hands over their eyes, and he calmly slid the ball into the same corner of the net as his other penalty, before he was smothered under an avalanche of team mates, with coaches, managers and subs dancing up the sideline.
As soon as the whistle went for the restart, the ref blew for full time and a night of celebrations which went on until midnight got under way.
A magnificent way to show the Brisbane football community that whilst this may be our 60th birthday, there is still plenty of life in this great club of ours.