Only one thing stood in the way of Chatham Cup soccer glory at the Bluewater Stadium, Napier, yesterday in the crucial game against Wairarapa United.
To be more precise, one bloke - not physically imposing or even vociferous, for that matter, in the beautiful game where chatter is an essential ingredient to success.
It was Wairarapa United goalkeeper Matt Borren who had lost his voice but found sublime traction with "the hand of God" - the legal variety, of course, as opposed to the Diego Maradona one - as Bluewater Napier City Rovers succumbed 2-1 at Park Island in the third round to their archrivals and 2011 champions.
"I'm not sure what happened today. I got put under a lot of pressure," the 27-year-old builder from Palmerston North said with a feeble smile, revealing he was bouncing back from a cold that had left his vocal chords bankrupt.
"Just say that I got lucky today," Borren said but his modesty would disguise a prowess that left Rovers players tearing their hair out in utter frustration.
Foraging Harley Rodeka, Andy Bevin, Danny Wilson, captain Bill Robertson and Ezequiel Dondiz were left looking up at the heavens in despair after missing countless one-on-ones, especially in the first half.
If anything, the Grant Hastings-coached Blues should have been at least 3-0 up in the first 45 minutes after they were all over the green machine like a bout of measles but instead they went into the changing rooms a goal down.
Cruelly the visitors went up 1-0 in the 34th minute at the expense of a young talent standing between the sticks on the other end of the park who will no doubt grow in stature for having gifted the first goal.
Wairarapa striker Seule Soromon pounced on the ball to jab it into the net as Jonty Underhill fumbled a regulation pick up after centreback Carl Shailler floated a speculator to the far post, although the conditions were slippery on a day when several games around the country were postponed due to rain.
A minute into the second half, keeper Borren again denied Dondiz from point-blank range but Rodeka equalised from the ensuing corner kick after lanky Frenchman Alsseny Cissoko's header evaporated to a feeble clearance.
In the 53rd minute Dondiz, who was pick of Rovers in his first full game at home, put a great ball through to Bevin but a squatting Borren swatted away the drive, like a fly, with his hand near the upright.
In the 59th minute, Wairarapa regained the lead, 2-1, after Soromon did a heel turn, surged ahead to flick a ball into the 18m box for centremid Aaron Spierling to push it past an advancing Underhill.
It begged the question: "Where were the Blues midfield?"
In the 75th minute, Dondiz again had the crowd oohing but it was that man, Borren, again.
Hastings agreed Borren deprived them time and again.
"We threw everything at them today and we played well to create great opportunities but the bloody ball just wouldn't go into the net so we just can't be prouder of these guys.
"Some days you would rather play poorly and win, wouldn't you?
"I think Wairarapa are very, very lucky because if they say anything flipping else then they are dreaming, to be fair," Hastings said, lamenting how they dominated a lion's share of the game but the opposition instead made a glorious entry on the right side of the ledger.
Underhill was having an outstanding season, he said, despite the howler.
"I said to him at halftime to keep his head up," Hastings said, reconciling that mistake with five goal-scoring chances.
The Rovers host Olympic this Sunday in a league match.