As the rain fell like sheets at ABD Stadium on the northern outskirts of Melbourne in Broadmeadows, a “King of the Australia Cup” took to the field.
Facing A-Leagues opposition for the fourth time in his career, Avondale FC’s Liam Boland was dressed as a serious threat to the Brisbane Roar backline. The one to keep an eye on, at all times in the last-16 showdown.
It wasn’t just his physical stature that put a target on his back. It was his record of nine Australia Cup goals, the equal-most by a National Premier Leagues (NPL) player in the competition’s history.
He would go on to enhance his reputation with a well-taken goal – but Boland wasn’t the only name on the lips of those in the crowd by full-time.
It was also former Premier League forward Charlie Austin, who left a lasting impression on the ABD Stadium crowd, and Boland himself, with his on and off-field performance.
Having taken Brisbane all the way to penalties, after 120 minutes of dramatic action that saw the game end 2-2 and Roar’s Jack Hingert sent off, Avondale eventually fell to Roar via a penalty shootout, in which Austin converted his spot-kick.
He proceeded to rile up the crowd with a celebration which went viral in the aftermath of the game, and led Austin to label himself as the “pantomime villain.”
He then made a beeline for the Avondale change rooms. He applauded Avondale for their efforts, admitting his side were lucky to have pulled it out the bag, and encouraged them to push on in their regular season in NPLM VIC.
“For him to come into the change rooms like he did…shows what kind of character he is,”Boland told KEEPUP after Avondale fell short 4-1 in a thrilling penalty shoot-out.
“If we are bringing imports to play in our country. They need to be people who can have an effect.”
Austin impressed Boland with his approach to the Australia Cup clash, barking instructions, leaping for headers, chasing and retrieving balls all over the park.
Adored already by fans across the country, Boland saw Austin’s infectious personality shine through first-hand.
“He’s exactly the type of person that we need to be bringing into the country,” Boland said.
In Australia, my whole career has been in the semi-professional system. And there’s a lot of big fish in small ponds. (So when) someone comes in who’s been a small fish in a big pond,(and plays like that) it’s massive.
In the 2-2 draw, Boland scored his 10th goal in the Australia Cup – a record-breaking number as an NPL player.
As Avondale bow out of the Australia Cup, attention turns solely to the NPLM VIC where the Avengers sit fifth in the standings heading into their final regular-season match.
Premiers South Melbourne await on Sunday afternoon, with the top six advancing to the finals series.
“We’ve gained a lot of confidence as a group from the performance even though we didn’t come away with the win,” Boland said.
“We’ll take a heap of momentum into our game this week. If we win, we’re in the finals.
“If we can take it into the weekend, we’ll be a scary proposition for other teams to face.”
