Coach Dean Wrigley and injured centreback Jonathan Purcell (ruled out in a pre-match fitness test) were a study in frustration on the sideline.
United, having spent most of this shortened season at the front of the title race, were in danger of falling at the last hurdle.
But Wrigley had a game-changer at his disposal.
First-team striker Josh Adams had started the game and been replaced by Aubrey Yates in the 34th minute.
Rolling subs are allowed in Central Federation local football so Wrigley was free to bring Adams back on.
In the 67th minute, with United 2-1 down, Adams went on for centreback Carl Shaw.
United shuffled things around to make do at the back; the important thing was that they now had three strikers.
Five minutes after he came on, Adams had the first chance of his second spell. It went just past the post.
Two minutes later, in the 74th, his right-wing inswinging corner found Cranswick, who headed in at the near post to make it 2-2.
In the 76th, it was Cranswick on the right, feeding Adams, whose first-time shot was well saved by Straatman.
Fifteen-year-old Straatman — he turns 16 in January — was a late replacement for Thistle’s Argentinian goalkeeper
Gabriel Garnica, who had to work.
Straatman was outstanding. His handling and shot-stopping were first-class. He also ventured far from his penalty area to ensure United’s pacy strikers had few opportunities for breakaways, and he made some crucial tackles as last man.
For the past 14 months he has attended the Olé Football Academy in Porirua, and he intends being there next year, as well.
He goes to school at Tawa College and looks to be well on the way to being a top-class goalkeeper.
United made a concession to defensive requirements in the 77th minute. Jimmy Holden came on at the back, replacing box-to-box right-winger Malcolm Marfell.
The final stages of the match were frantic.
In the 79th minute, United central midfielder Aaron Graham — having a stormer alongside fellow workhorse Craig Christophers — played a nicely weighted ball in to Cranswick. He turned and shot in one movement . . . it went just over.
In the 80th, Thistle playmaker Tomek Frooms played a wall pass with a teammate just outside the United penalty area and sent Travis White clear on the left side of the goal. White’s snapshot hit the junction of the post and bar.
In the next movement, Adams was being foiled by Straatman’s intervention at the other end, and Cranswick’s follow-up went wide.
In the 85th, Thistle gave the ball away in a dangerous area but Cranswick’s shot was off target.
In the 87th, Frooms produced a deft flick to lift the ball over the legs of the United defenders and put White in the clear, but he shot past the post.
United immediately took play to the other end and produced a winner.
This match had tension and drama comparable to the game between the clubs’ first teams three weeks before, when United lost 3-1 to Thistle but denied them the extra goal that would have given the Jags the Pacific Premiership title.
This time it was Thistle who threatened to spoil United’s big day, and for 88 minutes it looked as if they might.
With Frooms the only regular first-team starter in their line-up, Thistle Reserves showed what they could do with their full complement for 90 minutes. But they exist as a breeding ground for first-team players.
That means some of them have to come off before the end of their reserve-team games to be subs for the first team.
On Saturday they held their own against a hard, bustling United outfit who — with Thistle Massive — have dominated the Eastern League for the past decade.
Campion College student Andre Riley, who turns 17 next month, was in exuberant form at leftback. Confident on the ball and quick to intercept when danger threatened, he didn’t shirk the knocks.
Centrebacks Charlie Morris and Janai Randall did exceptionally well against high-quality strikers, and rightback Gaurav Chetan Kashyap looked to set up play from the back, as did Fletcher Stewart-Hill when he came on in the second half.
In central midfield, Frooms was always likely to spring a surprise, and Ashley McMillan performed a similar role to that of United’s Graham, popping up where needed and keeping the engine running smoothly.
Flank players Merlin Parsons, on the right, and Charles Morrison had their hands full getting forward in attack while helping contain their opposing wingers, Damon Husband and Marfell. In the second half, though, Parsons instigated the move that brought Al-Jammali his second goal.
Thistle also had the boost of former Team Gisborne midfielder Max Logan being available. He came on for the second half, in place of Morrison, and fitted easily into the team pattern.
Up front, Al-Jammali and Lytton High School student White showed pace, skill and spirit. The finishing was off on Saturday, but that can be fixed.
Al-Jammali’s aggressive running into the box had drawn the foul from Andrew Bristow for the penalty, which Al-Jammali dispatched efficiently into a corner in the 15th minute.
Never-say-die running from Cranswick stopped the ball from going out for a goal-kick in the 37th. He cut back and slammed it in from close range to make it 1-1 at halftime.
United first-team regulars Adams, Marfell and Kieran Venema added significant value to the team effort on Saturday.
Marfell never gives less than full noise, and Venema’s no-nonsense approach settles things in midfield.
Adams rejoined the fray with one explicit instruction from Wrigley: “Get us a goal.”
Not exactly unsung, but heroes for United nevertheless, were fullbacks Ben Hansen and Bristow, centreback Shaw and keeper Al Knight.
Rightback Hansen has a handy turn of pace that he used to outstanding effect on Saturday. Bristow impressed with his covering and Shaw was a combative stopper in the middle.
Knight’s strength is that he saves everything he should and a bit more besides.
It was a great weekend for the Knight family. Al’s wife Mel was in goal and their daughter Kayley in midfield for the United team who clinched the women’s competition with a 2-0 win against Riverina yesterday.
On Saturday, left-winger Husband thought he had put United 2-1 up with a header in the 50th minute, but the goal was disallowed for an infringement in the penalty area. Husband was later replaced by Sam Royston, who kept the work rate high on that flank.
Wrigley said the game could have ended “six or seven-all”.
“We knew if we could get the ball in to our forwards, we had a shot,” he said. “At halftime I told them they’d been No.1 the whole year, they deserved to be there and today was the ‘cup final’.”
Thistle Reserves stand-in coach Ron Young said he couldn’t have asked for more from his players.
Many of the team were training for an under-19 tournament. They had shown they were up to the challenge of such an intensely contested game.
The match was well controlled by referee Chris Niven.
■ In the Lytton High School-Wainui Sharks game, Steffan John scored a hat-trick and Jaiden Ibbetson and Olly Tilley scored a goal each in a 5-0 win for Wainui.
