Flashback: McBreen worldie solidifies oldest goalscorer record
With one swing of that magic wand of a left peg, 42-year-old Daniel McBreen solidified his place in Australia Cup history, breaking his own record of oldest goalscorer in the Final Rounds of the competition.
His previous record stood at 39 years and 130 days with a Round of 16 goal for Edgworth Eagles against Western Sydney Wanderers on 30 August 2016 in a 5-1 loss.
Not only was this goal for Edgeworth Eagles notable as a new record at 42 years and 120 days, it was a worldie... against his then employer!
Working as a Jets youth team coach at the time, McBreen’s Edgeworth Eagles were pitted against fellow Northern NSW side and A-Leagues outfit Newcastle Jets.
The Eagles went behind early on through a goal from the Jets’ Panama international striker Abdiel Arroyo but McBreen wasted little time to level things up in spectacular fashion.
Only eight minutes later, the former Central Coast Mariners Championship winner swooped on a loose ball 35 metres from goal and unleashed a thunderbolt over Lewis Italiano in goal and into the top corner of the net.
“I just saw Lewi [Jets goalkeeper Lewis Italiano] standing off his line early doors and I thought ‘if anything drops I’m just going to have a hit’,” McBreen said at the time.
“It went in top corner so I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
In the lead up to the match, McBreen tried his luck to gather intel ahead of the clash at Jack McLaughlin Oval, striding into Jets' coach Ernie Merrick's office and asking point blank what was on the agenda for training.
“I walked in [on Monday] and went straight into Ernie’s office and asked him what they were doing for training and he just laughed,” McBreen told AustraliaCup.com.au at the time.
“There’s been a bit of banter with some of the boys as well. A few of the senior players, like [Nigel] Boogaard and [Nikolai] Topor-Stanley weren’t out on the training paddock and I was joking with them that they are too scared to come up against this old fella.
“Look, we know Ernie’s style of play so we know what to expect but when you come up against A-League quality players it’s a tough ask. We’ll do what we think we can do to counteract that and win the game.
“It’s always good to play against A-League opposition, it takes you back to the good old days."
Although the Jets went on to claim the battle of the Hunter, 5-1, McBreen certainly turned back the clock with his wonderstrike, earning a place in Australia Cup folklore.
