The Bay are sitting second on the table on 26 points after 13 rounds, four behind 2013-14 minor premiership champions Auckland City, who thumped Southern United 10-0 yesterday.
A home semifinal isn't a done deal yet for Bay United after Team Wellington, level 1-1 against Wanderers Soccer Club with 20 minutes to go, yesterday ran away 4-1 victors to keep the kettle boiling in third place on 23 points and a better goal average than the Bay.
Canterbury are perched on the fourth rung on 22 points as powerhouses Waitakere United, two points behind, face the possibility of not making the playoffs for the first time in the history of the nine-year competition after drawing 1-1 with WaiBOP United on Saturday.
A playoff berth is in the bag, although Bay host Auckland at Park Island, Napier, this Saturday.
In Christchurch, the hosts were snorting flames in the opening half hour but it was mercurial midfielder Tom Biss who drew first blood in just the 31st minute when he latched on to a curling cross from American import centre-mid Sean Morris on the left flank, which soared over goalkeeper Adam Highfield.
Biss clipped the ball past the keeper with his left foot to make it 1-0.
The body language going into halftime wasn't good from the Dragons, who discovered their midfield dominance had deserted them with Biss, Morris and David Mulligan dictating terms.
Greatholder said Biss, who has plied his trade for the Wellington Phoenix, albeit fleetingly, was "brilliant" as he inches closer in the jostle for golden boot honours.
"He's scored all his goals from open play while the others in the team have got two or three from penalty kicks."
Biss is on seven goals, two behind leaders Emiliano Tade (Auckland) and Henry Fa'arodo (Wellington).
If there was any false sense of mission accomplished, then it would have vanished rapidly when referee Matt Conger awarded a penalty to the Dragons for what the website report calls "the upending of [Federio] Marquez".
All Whites player Aaron Clapham (eight goals) made no mistake from the penalty kick to make it 1-1.
"It's debatable because we didn't see it as a penalty," he said, disappointed because Canterbury got back into the game during a strong period.
"The ball came into the box and there was a little bit of ping pong and Marquez fell over from some body checking."
Many teams would have stuttered but Bay United lifted the tempo of their game.
The winning goal came from English import centreback Aaron Jones - who has found the net more times (four) than any defender should ever have licence to - in the 90th minute when he headed home the winner.
Greatholder had substituted Harry Edge in the 38th minute with Sean Lovemore because he didn't want to risk playing the game with 10 men after Edge had picked up a yellow card for a foul on Clapham in just the 18th minute.
The Dragons had a solid spine, he felt, so Bay United opted to use the wings to deprive them of any form of dominance and also playing high up the park.
"They [Canterbury] are a good team and Clapham is a class player but, to be honest, half a dozen of my players played much better than him today."
It would be, he emphasised, the best season in the history of the Bay franchise if they finish second, after helping create history when the team made their maiden playoffs last summer.
Greatholder said his side's ability to play differently was enough to win the premiership title.
"The group's not finished ... and there's a lot of self-belief in the camp," Greatholder said.
