LAST Saturday evening Queensland Roar made the trip to Sydney for a one-off encounter against the sky-blue clad Sydney FC.

The atmosphere was unremarkable as a crowd of two disgruntled young ladies nestled in for a match that interested them little. The charred sausages had been consumed, freshly cracked beers were on the coffee table and the players eyed each other off with barely concealed contempt.

It could have been the real thing if it wasn't for the gentle hum coming from the PlayStation as it loaded the game. You see, in an attempt to overcome the A-League off-season doldrums, a friend and I decided to do battle in the digital realm. It was winner takes all in a game of EA Sports FIFA '09.

In the orange and maroon corner was your faithful blogger. Ready to defend everything that is great about the ‘sunshine state' - XXXX beer, Bowen mangoes and a unicameral legislature. In the blue and, ahem, blue corner was Smurfy McGee (not his real name obviously) - the self-appointed moral protector of yellow number plates, airport violence and cruelty-free Tim-Tams.

The odds were against the boys from Queensland right from the start. Being an XBox owner, I was unfamiliar with the controller and, as mentioned in a previous blog, I was carrying a back injury into the match.

My opponent on the other hand was brimming with confidence. As the teams walked on to the pitch he began to repeatedly chant, "You'll never win the A-League". He even produced a Sydney FC scarf from behind the sofa and draped himself in his team colours. My only response was to muster my best Yosemite Sam impersonation and announce: "This means war!"

It was barely eight minutes in to the contest when the drama began. Reinaldo, unencumbered by real-life injury, found space in the final third and surged toward the box only to be up-ended by a callous Simon Colosimo tackle. The referee had no hesitation in showing a red card to Colosimo and Smurfy McGee, without any shame whatsoever, had no hesitation in claiming an anti-Sydney bias.

The ensuing free kick from Sergio Van Dijk beat the ‘keeper and hit the cross bar. An opportunistic Danny Tiatto latched on to the rebound with a first time volley, scorching the ball in to the back of the net. One-nil to the Queenslanders and, in celebration, I rose to my feet and proceeded to dance not too unlike Peter Garrett.

It would be the 23rd minute before Smurfy had his revenge. In a simple yet effective Sydney counter-attack, Stuart Musialik was allowed too much space on the edge of the box. He cut toward the centre of the field and unleashed a venomous strike that left Roar ‘keeper Liam Reddy with no chance. One goal apiece and the taunts from the Sydney side of the living room recommenced.

Smurfy McGee was soon silenced again though, as a wayward back pass to Clint Bolton saw a strangely slim Charlie Miller one-on-one with the Sydney ‘keeper. The Scotsman made no mistake, placing the ball in the bottom right corner and it was two-one Queensland. Burned by my previously over-top celebration, I made do with a simple arm held aloft as I silently stared at my digital nemesis.

The score stayed the same until the break. In place of the usual half-time oranges, we drank deeply from our stubbies, the tension evident as we glared at each other in silent disdain. At this point, our two visibly baffled female spectators stood and proclaimed in unison, "This is stupid". They then left the room, presumably to undertake some type of secret women's business that didn't involve football.

The second half began and, with our players rapidly fatiguing due to overzealous use of the sprint button, the game became a real tussle. Queensland was under pressure from Sydney's continual through-balls to striker John Aloisi, who was unlucky to have a penalty turned down around the hour mark. This time there were no claims of bias, just a simple and eloquent, "Shieldsy's a wanker!" from my verbose friend.

Finally, the tactic payed off for the Sydneysiders and Aloisi managed to toe-poke one past a lunging Reddy to level it at two goals apiece. Cue the usual round of taunting and self-congratulations by Smurfy (he never learns, this bloke). The goal came in the 83rd minute and Queensland decided to make two game breaking substitutions before the re-start.

Massimo Murdocca replaced yellow card recipient Danny Tiatto and an ineffective Matt McKay was substituted with the enigmatic Robbie Kruse. A slight reshuffle in the midfield and we were ready to go once again.

What unfolded next was magical. A series of quick passes were exchanged by the Queenslanders. Miller, now in a holding midfield role, played it to Murdocca, who in turn found a surging Robbie Kruse on the right wing. Kruse took two heavy touches and, with the by-line rapidly approaching attempted to find the unmarked Reinaldo at the far post.

The cross was low and fast. Clint Bolton, guarding his near post, dived in futility as the ball zipped past him. Smurfy and I collectively held our breath as the ball then hit the far post and deflected across the line, eventually coming to rest softly in the other side of the netting. Three-two and that's how it would stay until the final whistle.

Kruse's late winner was enthusiastically proclaimed by me to be the greatest goal since Ned Zelic conjured the impossible against Holland in 1991. My opponent claimed it was the greatest fluke since that very same goal. I retorted that he was just bitter. And he began flicking bottle caps at me.

Yes, it truly was a night when dreams were made, hearts were broken and the A-League, for about 12 minutes, was no longer in its off-season. It was there, brighter and bolder than ever, in a suburban living room in Brisbane. Forgive me if I have difficulty understanding what is so stupid about that.