Some players just know where to be in the 90th minute. Billy Romas is one of them. Twice this season he has popped up to deliver goals that changed matches. Bulleen in Round 3. Brunswick City in Round 4. And now, with The Web on the edge of its seat, a third. The winner against North Sunshine Eagles. The sort of finish that confirms a pattern is not a coincidence.
Eltham Redbacks 3-2 North Sunshine Eagles. Round 8. An afternoon that had the crowd twitchy, the bench stood up, and the Redbacks walking off with three points they had to earn the hard way.
North Sunshine came to Eltham North with intent. Sitting 11th and needing a result, they played with the physicality and directness their league position demanded. Kaan Elibol punished the Redbacks on 23 minutes to give the Eagles the lead. Early warning. Eltham had been here too often in recent weeks, conceding first, chasing the game.
The response was quick. Lewis Collins levelled in the 37th minute to send the teams into the break at 1-1. Familiar face, familiar contribution. Collins has been about moments like this all season.
The second half followed the same script for a while. Aidan Olds restored the Eagles’ lead on 63 minutes. 2-1. The Web went quiet. Against Langwarrin two rounds ago, Eltham had come back from 1-0 down at The Web and found a way. Against North Geelong last round, a lead disappeared in seven minutes. This was now a test of which version of the Redbacks had turned up.
The answer came from the bench and the dead ball. Mehmet Uysal, who has been a set-piece menace all season, equalised on 75 minutes to make it 2-2. Fifteen minutes to find a winner. Or take a point.
Eltham went looking for the win. Dylan Bresolin, Temor Foryabee and Jacob Ross all came off the bench in the final twenty minutes as Pace and Mulcahy pushed for a third. North Sunshine held. The clock ticked.
Then the 90th minute. Billy Romas. Again.
This is becoming a habit. Back-to-back goals in Rounds 3 and 4 against Bulleen and Brunswick earlier in the season. The header at The Web that sealed the Brunswick City match felt like a one-off at the time. It clearly was not. Romas has a knack for timing runs into the box when it matters most, and he found it again on Saturday. 3-2. The Web erupted.
Abdulkerim Koc, captaining from between the sticks, had moments of being asked to bail the team out, and he did. Josh Dennett and Finn Diamond continued their partnership at the back, imperfect at times but present when it mattered. Josh Millar and Jack Butts gave width and cover. Liam O’Connell and Nicholas Edwards put in the shifts in midfield before making way for fresh legs.
The result matters on multiple fronts. Sixteen points from eight rounds. Back-to-back home wins. Response to the North Geelong defeat: emphatic. A character test under pressure, passed.
Three goals scored. Three different scorers. Collins, Uysal, Romas. The attacking shares the load. Uysal’s set-piece influence continues to be the single best tactical edge in this squad. Dennett’s long throws and Uysal’s delivery remain the Redbacks’ most reliable source of chances.
North Sunshine will feel hard done by. They led twice. They were organised. But at The Web, in the 90th minute, against a team that refuses to go away, it is starting to feel like a dangerous place to visit.
Sixteen points and into the top three made for another home afternoon that the fans will remember. And Billy Romas, once again, is the difference.