A stoppage time goal by Dino Djulbic lifted Gold Coast United to a dramatic 1-0 A-League soccer finals win over Melbourne Victory at Skilled Park last night.
Two-time champions Victory were knocked out of the title race by their bitter rivals after Djulbic's header off a Peter Perchtold corner in
the first minute of stoppage time found the back of the net.
United will now take on Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday evening.
It was the first finals win by upstarts United - and one of their sweetest ever.
This elimination final was billed as a grudge match after the war of words that erupted following their last meeting.
United coach Miron Bleiberg earned the ire of the Victory after questioning their physical game following a 2-0 loss to the Victorians a month ago, describing it as "borderline dirty".
So it was no surprise when Bleiberg raised his arms and soaked up the win at fulltime after knocking out a side that is usually building momentum at this stage of the season.
The Victory have contested three of the last four grand finals, winning two of them but arrived on the glitter strip without a double finals chance following their fifth-place regular season finish.
The Victory can now focus on their Asian Champions League opener in Japan on March 1.
Only 3,281 witnessed a bit of United history, with some Victory fans believed to be stranded in Melbourne due to delays caused by a second Virgin Blue computer glitch in a week.
The finals series has been billed as an end of an era for the upstart United squad due to the looming player exodus.
Dino Djulbic, Steve Pantelidis, Zenon Caravella and Bas van den Brink are all confirmed exits, with Shane Smeltz and marquee man Jason Culina rumoured to follow.
Scores were locked 0-0 at halftime despite plenty of pressure from the Victory.
United keeper Glen Moss had pulled off two spectacular saves by the sixth minute following strikes by Danny Allsopp then Socceroo Robbie Kruse.
With temperatures soaring in the mid to late 30s, conditions were so hot that players had drink breaks midway through both halves.
The teams looked to have swapped uniforms at halftime as United exploded out of the blocks, Smeltz squandering two chances by the 47th minute.
Joel Porter - back from a three week break nursing a calf complaint - looked dangerous for United once he was injected in the 49th minute, hitting the cross bar in the 54th.
Victory's best chance came in the 83rd minute when Allsopp sprayed a wonderful Carlos Hernandez through-ball from point blank range.
Both teams were coming off last start losses but United were considered underdogs after grabbing just one win from their past five matches.
- AAP
Dino Djulbic of United celebrates after scoring the match winner. Photo / Getty Images
A stoppage time goal by Dino Djulbic lifted Gold Coast United to a dramatic 1-0 A-League soccer finals win over Melbourne Victory at Skilled Park last night.
Two-time champions Victory were knocked out of the title race by their bitter rivals after Djulbic's header off a Peter Perchtold corner in
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