8-7 isn’t a scoreline many football fans are too familiar with.
Even in a penalty shootout, 15 goals will present the utmost of drama.
But on Tuesday, the 16th of April, the Kappa Queensland Cup / Australia Cup produced one of the most magical matches in recent memory, with The Gap FC prevailing over Newmarket FC by that very scoreline - not in a penalty shootout - but over 120 minutes of intense, exhilarating and utterly extraordinary action.
The match began with Newmarket taking a 2-0 lead in just eight minutes - an advantage which would see many games done and dusted.
The head coach of The Gap FC - Del Harte - echoed these concerns, particularly considering the abundance of absentees in his squad for this Cup clash.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pretty worried going behind so early,” he said.
“We were missing 8 of the first team for various reasons so I was really hoping we could keep it tight for the first few minutes to build the confidence of some of the younger players.
“However, it was one of our 23’s players who really stepped up to get us back into the game and start the comeback.
“Zack (Griffiths) scored a cracking individual goal out of nothing and I think it just lit a fire with our lads after a very sloppy start.
“We then started to get a grip on the game and drew level a few minutes later.”
However, just three minutes after drawing level, Newmarket took the lead once more, before adding a fourth goal in the 67th minute to surely secure victory and a spot in the Kappa Queensland Cup / Australia Cup Preliminary Round 5.
Again though, the three minutes following the goal made all the difference, as The Gap FC clinched one back to set up a thrilling end to the match.
But as the clock ticked, the chances of another stunning comeback shrunk lower and lower, Newmarket still in the lead well into added time of the 90 minutes.
And then, all of a sudden, it was level, with Luke Greensland-Horton netting a last-gasp penalty to take the match to extra time.
In almost any match around the globe, a 4-4 draw, featuring two stunning comebacks from two goals down, and a last-minute penalty would be all the drama a game could offer.
But in the words of Harte, extra time was “when the real madness began!”
The Gap made it 5-4 in the fifth minute of extra time, before adding a sixth in the 104th minute to take a two-goal lead - which as we’ve learnt, is a recipe for disaster - into the second period.
“Another of our 23’s players, Braiden, scored to make it 6-4 and I was thinking that might be enough, especially having a 2 goal lead going into the second half of extra time,” said Harte.
“I urged the lads not to concede in the first 5 mins of the second half as I thought it might kill any spirit left in Newmarket.”
However, Newmarket promptly scored twice to draw scores level, with the match sensationally now 6-6, but then a minute later, Greenslade-Horton netted to restore The Gap FC’s lead, before an equaliser from Newmarket even the match once again.
In just five minutes of football, the score had changed from 6-4 to 7-7.
Simon Mifsud, a player for The Gap FC who was out injured for the fixture, recalled the mayhem of extra time.
“The momentum of the game was strange as we would dominate the ball, but one cross in the box would cause us to concede,” he said.
“It just felt like the momentum was shifting both ways.
“I had no idea who was going to win.”
And finally, five minutes later, the last goal of the match came, with The Gap FC scoring in characteristically dramatic style just two minutes from fulltime to secure a remarkable 8-7 win.
“Extra time in general was like 2 boxers on their last legs just throwing haymakers in the final round until one of them finally fell over,” said Harte.
“It wasn’t pretty.
“Luckily for us, we managed to be victorious on the night but it could have gone either way over the course of extra time.
“It really was a surreal 30 minutes of football.”
Meanwhile, Mifsud was enjoying the immense celebrations that came with the insanity of the match.
“Emotions from all the boys on the sideline were crazy,” he said.
“We hadn’t felt this winning feeling at The Gap in a long time.
“I just wanted to go out there and play!”
Reflecting on the match, Harte aptly said “I think it was a mixture of celebration, exhaustion and everyone just wondering ‘what the hell just happened out there’ - I think the Newmarket lads were in the same boat.
“If we were to concede 7 in any other game, I would have been fuming post game but we got the win and it was arguably a once in a career match - I think I slept around 2 hours that night trying to process what had just happened!
“But overall I was extremely proud of the performance, we finished the game with as many of our 23’s on the pitch as our first team squad.
“They dug extremely deep to keep going over 120 minutes.
“It hopefully says a lot about what they are capable of long term if they consistently show that hunger, togetherness and determination.
“I don’t want this game to be the highlight of our season, it’s really important both of our squads build on this and get stronger.”
The Gap FC will be given the perfect chance to grow off the astounding match in their Kappa Queensland Cup / Australia Cup Preliminary Round Five, where they will take on FQPL 2 Men side Maroochydore Swans FC.
“Maroochydore is a quality side,” said Harte on their next opponents.
“They currently have the 2 top scorers in FQPL2 which speaks volumes about their attacking threat.
“We know we are massive underdogs but I’m hoping we can thrive on that.
“We have no pressure going into this game and will look to just enjoy the occasion.
“I know if my lads can find that hunger again, we can at least aim to make it a competitive game.
“Hopefully we can get a decent crowd down and give them another entertaining game to enjoy.”
