Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano is disappointed, but proud, after his team's A-League finals campaign was cut short in gutwrenching fashion by Melbourne Victory.
Oskar Zawada's equaliser in the final movement of regulation induced scenes of ecstasy not seen at Sky Stadium since that Rory Fallon header against Bahrain to send the All Whites to the World Cup back in 2010.
The Victory responded to that brutal blow with a goal in extra time that was eventually enough to deny the Phoenix their first-ever trip to the A-League final.
Italiano admits he thought Zawada's incredible late effort would be too demoralising a blow for the Melbourne side to bounce back from, especially amid the bedlam of a heaving, soldout Sky Stadium.
"I've never felt a buzz like that in my life," Italiano said. "I thought that was one thing that would have stopped Victory taking that next step, and they would have just defended and played for penalties, but they dug deep, they deserved to win and that's football."
The Phoenix will undoubtedly reflect on what have been. Captain Alex Rufer had a penalty saved early, awarded after a contentious video review. Ben Old's late strike careened off the post, just moments before Victory's Adama Traore laser left-footed effort gave his team the lead.
While Zawada's heroics gave them hope, the Phoenix will look back despondently on the huge stretches of territory and possession they were unable to cash in on.
"If we'd come here, and didn't make chances and weren't in the game, and they scored the way they did, I could accept that," Italiano said. "We had so much of the ball, we made so many chances [and] we were very brave.
"I was disappointed with the two goals we conceded, just uncharacteristic."
The recordbreaking crowd of 33,297 - the largest in the club's history and the 2024 A-League season - rode the dramatic highs and brutal lows of the contest through to its devastating conclusion, and a huge contingent remained after the match to applaud their team's historic campaign - still the most successful in the franchise's history.
Italiano has no doubt the team will ultimately be better for the experience.
"I'm really happy in the sense that I think the group needed this, if they're to grow," he said. "It's going to be fuel for next year.
"If we want to be a team that consistently churns and fights for these positions, we really need to make the most of this experience. I think a lot of those boys that experienced that today are going to take that away and are going to use that in order to be successful next year, especially the young guys."
The Victory will face Central Coast Mariners in the A-League final, after the Premiers Plate winners dispatched Sydney FC 2-1 on aggregate.
