It took a remarkable comeback, but Bonnyrigg White Eagles have stormed into the 2015 grand final after defeating Blacktown City 4-2 in extra time.
For a lot of teams, 2-0 down is a bridge too far, especially in the major semi final when there is a second chance available.
But not Bonnyrigg.
Two goals from Robbie Younis, including a pearler of a free kick in extra time, and further goals from Mun-Soo Gil and Ray Miller secured the win in the most unlikely fashion.
“One thing I’ve learnt with this group of guys is that they never give up,’’ sais Bonnyrigg coach Brian Brown after the match.
“Twice this year we’ve played Blacktown previously where we’ve come from behind and come back, and I said to the bench that if we could get a goal, we would win this.”
Brown said starting Younis on the bench was more about how well his starting XI had played last week against APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC than anything else.
“I think last week they played so well it was hard to change it,” Brown said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“I knew at some stage Rob would come on and he’s just pure quality. That’s his 102nd game for the club and he’s scored 78 goals, he’s phenomenal.”[/social_quote]
After a scoreless first half, Blacktown City superstars Danny Choi and Patrick Antelmi scored two brilliant goals to give their team a 2-0 lead and quite possibly a spot in the grand final.
With two goals in the bag and playing such good football, it looked a long road back for Bonnyrigg.
But in fact it only took four minutes for the White Eagles to restore parity.
Younis struck first with a towering header in the 64th minute before Mun-Soo Gil scored almost straight after with a fine strike from outside the box which found the back of the net via a slight deflection.
Blacktown City were shell shocked, but recovered to close out regulation time with a good effort from a Gibbs free kick.
With teams stuck at 2-2 after 90 minutes, extra time did not prove to be a cagey affair.
Having won a free kick on the edge of the area, Younis expertly lined up the shot and with incredible precision curled the ball around an eight-man City wall and beyond a helpless Vekic.
It just seemed like it was Bonnyrigg’s night.
Ray Miller confirmed as much as extra time came to a close when he took advantage of some miscommunication from the Blacktown defence to slot home from close range to cap off an incredible game against his old club.
