South Melbourne vice-captain Brad Norton has hailed the atmosphere at Lakeside Stadium in the aftermath of the club’s epic 3-1 FFA Cup victory over Melbourne Knights.
South came from behind to win agains their rivals for the third time this season, with Norton visibly ecstatic with the victory.
“In the four years I’ve been at this club I don’t reckon I’ve played in a game like this.” Norton told SMFC TV after the game.
“The atmosphere, with the crowd getting involved, I was saying to one of the boys, it was almost like the old NSL days. We can’t ask for any more. It’s what got us over the line, being at home and having our 12th man. I’m a bit speechless at the moment, it was crazy. We have the best fans in the country by a mile”
Milos Lujic converted a penalty to draw South level with 10 minutes to play in the match, before a late brace to Nick Epifano sealed a memorable win.
The victory moves South to within one game of qualification for the lucrative FFA Cup finals, where the boys from Lakeside would once again grace the national stage against the likes of Melbourne Victory should they progress.
Brad Norton took the captain’s armband on the night in the absence of regular skipper Michael Eagar, and was also given the daunting task of filling in at Eagar’s regular position in the heart of defence.
Norton was typically understated when asked about his role on the night.
“Look I enjoy the challenge, but at the same time we’d love to have Michael Eagar back in there. But I knew I had to do a role for the team tonight. Everyone had a job tonight and we knew that if everyone stepped up and did theirs, we’d get over the line and that’s what we did.”