It was an instant classic at Darcy Street, but the NPL TAS title race was no clearer by the end of South Hobart and Olympia's thrilling 3-3 draw on Sunday.
A stunning stoppage time goal from Jordan Scott stole a point for Olympia, who had been reduced to ten men just five minutes earlier. A second yellow card to Lucas Hill looked to have guaranteed a win for South Hobart after they had led for most of the half, but they were left to rue missed opportunities throughout the contest.
The game opened with plenty of attacking intent, but little execution. Both sides looked to play their trademark direct styles from the outset, with South targeting the wings and Olympia flooding balls towards Jack Ryan up front.
With little in the way of clear-cut chances in the first 15 minutes, it was fitting that a set piece was needed to break the deadlock. A free kick from 40-odd yards out was floated into the box by Nick Morton, and his drifting delivery found the head of Ben Hamlett essentially unmarked. From just in front of the penalty spot, he thumped a header into the top corner to open the scoring for the hosts.
Despite the opening goal, both sides still struggled to settle into any sort of attacking rhythm. Olympia continued to look for Ryan over the top, but with the towering Oscar Thomas to contend with he struggled to use that service.
It was when the Warriors moved away from that plan that they found a surprising equaliser. Fullback Jake Vandermey made a flying off-ball run down the right wing, and Scott honoured it with a delightful chipped ball behind the defence. The bounce wrong footed Graham Wright in goal and left Vandermey with an open net, which he coolly finished into from a tight angle.
The game continued to be an arm wrestle, with the only real attacking sparks coming from the frontmen at either end. Both Hamlett and Ryan forced acrobatic saves from the respective goalkeepers, but the majority of the contest was spent in the middle of the park.
South would retake the lead just before the break, and once again it took a set piece for them to find the back of the net. This time they could credit the opposition too, as a rare blunder from Olympia gloveman Kyle McDonald gave the hosts a helping hand.
A corner from the right was poked goalward by Bradley Lakoseljac, and McDonald saved at the near post. However, his attempt to collect a routine ball saw him fumble and spill, and the rebound landed in the lap of Oscar Thomas thumped it home from point-blank range.
With a narrow lead now in hand South came out firing to open the second half, as Iskander Van Doorne went close in the minutes after the restart. Once again, though, the Warriors managed to find a quick equaliser against the run of play.
If McDonald spent the break stewing over his fumble for South's goal, he would have been feeling better after Olympia's reply. South's Ewan Larby looked to play a simple ball back to his goalkeeper, but a slightly underhit pass and a slow reaction from Wright opened the door for Joffrey Nkoso. The Warriors livewire managed to get to the ball first, play it around the advancing Wright and tap home into an open net.
With the game thrust into a breakneck pace, it wasn't a long wait until the next goal. Again it was the home side edging in front, as the ball started with Gorrie in the middle. He played it to Tobias Herweynen on the left, who beat his man with a cutback and slid it across the defence to Van Doorne. The Canadian took a steadying touch before finishing calmly into the bottom corner to make it 3-2.
The last half an hour saw South Hobart close to burying the game on numerous occasions, as they continued to look the more likely side. The final shot count of 21-12 did justice to their threat around the goal, but they were unable to find the sealer.
It looked like that wouldn't matter when, in the 86th minute, Hill was shown his second slice of cheese and given his marching orders. A wild and unnecessary sliding challenge saw him heading for the showers early, and looked to have ended any hope of a result for the Warriors.
Football is a funny game, though, and the old proverb rang true in stoppage time as Scott produced a worthy equaliser. After winning a free kick near the left-hand corner, he tapped it to the second man over the ball, made a run inboard and got it back. With space to shoot from the corner of the 18-yard box, he curled it brilliantly into the far top corner to level the scores for a third time.
The last play of the game almost produced more drama, as South's Loic Feral found space in the box and headed goalward, but his effort lobbed straight into the arms of McDonald as the final whistle sounded.
With Scott's heroics securing one point for Olympia, they remain in second spot on the NPL TAS ladder and just three points adrift of Devonport. South Hobart, meanwhile, missed a golden opportunity to move into second; instead, they sit a further three points behind the Warriors in third.