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There is nothing quite like a Friday night at The Web when the floodlights are on and the result is in doubt.
Langwarrin came to Eltham North Reserve and for 45 minutes looked exactly like a side with nothing to lose. Alan Webb’s finish on 22 minutes was deserved. The visitors were sharper, more direct, more willing to get on the ball in dangerous areas. At the break, no honest Redbacks supporter could argue with the scoreline. Langwarrin were worth their lead.
It got harder before it got better. Marcus Day went down injured after 20 minutes and couldn’t continue. Mehmet Uysal came off the bench, and what happened next turned the entire match.
The second half was a different game. Uysal’s set-piece delivery gave the Redbacks a weapon they hadn’t had in the first 45, and it paid dividends almost immediately. On 53 minutes, Josh Dennett launched one of his trademark long throws into the box. Chaos. Bodies. Langwarrin goalkeeper Branten Kindler could only divert it into his own net. 1-1. The Web came alive.
From there, Eltham pushed. Langwarrin dug in, picked up bookings through McGeorge and Youngs, and for a spell it looked like a point apiece would be the fair result. Dylan Bressolin’s introduction on 63 minutes gave fresh legs, and the double substitution on 80 brought Ben Wallace and Temor Foryabee into the action.
Then, the 88th minute. Another set piece. Another delivery into the danger zone. Finn Diamond, the Kiwi centre-back, rose highest and headed home. 2-1. The Web erupted.
Two set pieces, two goals, one from Uysal’s delivery. A player who came on through necessity became the catalyst for three points. Kindler’s night got worse in added time when he saw red in the 95th minute, but by then the story had already been written.
Six rounds into their first VPL1 season, the Redbacks sit third on 13 points. Four wins, a draw, and a single defeat. This was the grittiest of the lot. Trailing at the break, a man down through injury, and finding a way regardless. That is what good sides do.