Asian Cup final: Socceroos courage was the difference on an epic night in Sydney against South Korea

AS the sun dropped towards the horizon beyond ANZ Stadium, the sense grew of history waiting to be written.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 31: Australian fans celebrate after Australia won the 2015 Asian Cup final match between Korea Republic and the Australian Socceroos at ANZ Stadium on January 31, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

AS the sun dropped towards the horizon beyond ANZ Stadium, the sense grew of history waiting to be written. There were nerves, of course there were nerves with so much at stake, but hidden beneath bravado as the fans approached the site of their moment of destiny.

On the trains, clutches of Korean fans were greeted by - and burst out laughing at - choruses of “Your flag is a Pepsi sign”, and “You’re just a suburb of Pyongyang”.

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But outside the stadium, one father sat with his son, already wide-eyed at the hordes milling around him, and told him they could be part of a once in a lifetime moment. Just a short walk away, deep inside the catacombs of the stadium, the Australian players were getting a similar message from Ange Postecoglou.

The first discordant note of the night came with the introduction of Sepp Blatter among the dignitaries presented to the teams - though undignitary might be a better term given the splendid booing that greeted the FIFA president, a reception his age-diminished hearing must now be used to.

Behind one of the goals and along one touchline, a sea of Korean red made a cacophonous noise. The hordes of gold, still well in the majority, responded maginicently, and the energy around the stadium was frenetic.

As the seconds ticked away until halftime the noise had taken on a nervous edge, as Korea wasted a series of gilt-edged chances - and then Luongo scored, and there was bedlam again.

The 22-year-old, who grew up in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, had said beforehand that “Sydney always delivers”. But instead it was he who delivered, and the reward was to hear the best part of 80,000 supporters in his home city hailing his name in unison.

With seconds left he was almost the hero - until Son Heung Min finally converted, leapt over the hoardings and ran to disappear somewhere in the midst of several thousand euphoric Koreans. An equaliser at the death is akin to defeat for the conceding side, but Postecoglou gathered his troops, exhorting them to find 30 minutes more running.

It’s doubtful he used Sir Alf Ramsey’s famous line to his England players at the same stage of the 1966 World Cup final - “well you won it once, so you’d better go out and win it again.” But sinking to the turf as the final whistle went, that’s exactly what they had done.

Originally published as Asian Cup final: Socceroos courage was the difference on an epic night in Sydney against South Korea