EFL 2018: Angelo Rambaldi gives Doncaster a five-point win over South Croydon with the last kick of the game

ANGELO Rambaldi proved to be the unlikely hero for Doncaster when he kicked the matchwinner with just 10 seconds remaining to give the Sharks a five-point win over South Croydon.

THEY produced a corker in Round 3.

And Doncaster and South Croydon delivered another game to bottle on Saturday.

Angelo Rambaldi proved to be the unlikely hero for the Sharks when he kicked the winning goal with the final kick of the game.

Here it is @DoncasterSharks fans! pic.twitter.com/FqKMWhEGjW

— Toby Prime (@T_Prime2) July 14, 2018

His shot from beyond 50m on a difficult angle at the JJ Tully Drive end of Schramms Reserve never looked like missing, sailing through at goalpost height to give Doncaster a 10.14 (74) to 10.9 (69) win.

It gave the Sharks the lead for one of the rare times during the game. But it was enough to give them their ninth win of the season.

Doncaster coach Andrew Tranquilli hailed the victory as a result he hoped would “reignite a spark” for the Sharks’ season after consecutive losses against fellow top-five sides Blackburn and Rowville.

Of Rambaldi’s shot, which came with about 10 seconds remaining, Tranquilli was unsure he had the trip.

James Munks flies for a mark. Picture: Hamish Blair

“He’s a good kick, I didn’t know whether he would have the distance or not,” Tranquilli said.

“He made it comfortably, it was a bit hard from where I was watching, I knew he was on boundary side, I didn’t know where he was within the 50m but at that time of the game we knew there was about a minute to go.

“As kid coming through the juniors he was one of the major goalkickers so he knows how to kick goals.”

After a shootout in Round 3 that saw 35 goals kicked, this contest came to life in the last quarter.

South Croydon had held the lead for effectively the entire game as Doncaster was left to rue inaccurate kicking (not for the first time this year).

The Sharks had kicked 4.12 to three-quarter time and trailed by as much as 26 points early in the last term.

But Doncaster found its range in the final quarter with 6.2 to 1.3 to remain inside the Division 1 top three on percentage.

Five goals in the space of 10 minutes put the Sharks in front by four points before Michael ‘Zippy’ King gave South Croydon a one-point buffer at the 21-minute mark.

Rambaldi marked uncontested in front of the scoreboard before calmly slotting the winner, snapping South Croydon’s nine-game winning streak and giving Doncaster its second win over the Bulldogs this year.

Michael Fogarty celebrates a goal. Picture: Andy Brownbill

A healthy rivalry is developing between these clubs. We can only hope they meet again in September.

The Round 3 game was considered among some spectators as the best game in the Eastern Football League in recent memory, while they were also only separated by nine points in Round 7 last year.

Their past three matches have been decided by a total of 23 points.

“They’ve got a real strong way of playing and I think we’ve got a strong belief in how to defend and then when it’s basically neutral ball, it’s just two sides that are clean, hard at it, disciplined in their structures,” Tranquilli said.

“I just think it was one of those games where we just match up well and our defensive aspects negate what their strengths are.”

Doncaster is still missing recruits Tyson Hartwig, Tom Bartholomew and Harry Conway but the trio will return in the coming weeks.

“It was important for the club this win, not only the 22, it was important for the club to reignite a spark because we know we get a lot back,” Tranquilli said.

“Just for the boys, they work so hard, they deserved that (win). I really felt it for the 22 that battled their guts out, that was huge.”