It's a truth universally acknowledged that on the nights that you're the most stressed, most tired, and that you most need a match to be decided in regulation time are the very nights that a match exceeds not only time limits, but all physical and emotional expectations.
I'm not sure whether to laugh, cry, or vomit after the Asian Cup final, which not only went to extra time, but was also decided 5-4 on penalties (to the Matildas, just in case you weren't up watching). What I am sure is that regardless of how tired I was before and during the match, I'm on such a high after that match it's unlikely that I'll now sleep.
It was, quite simply, a match that had a lot of everything.
It started with the coach Tom Sermanni sporting dyed hair and a missing moustache (ostensibly something to do with a promise to the team to undergo such a transformation should they qualify for the 2011 World Cup, which they did with a match to spare courtesy of their semi final win).
It finished with heart-in-mouth penalties which saw Australia get up 5-4 over DPR Korea, which were then followed by celebrations that inspired goosebump emotions that rivalled those I felt when the Socceroos qualified for the 2006 World Cup.
In between there was the last-minute loss of the Matildas' other speedy and super experienced striker, Sarah Walsh, who reportedly twisted her knee in an accident at the hotel (I know, I'm intrigued too), relentless rain and an already choppy pitch that soon resembled a mud bath, and a rollercoaster of goals scored, almost scored, and then conceded.
Sixteen-year-old Sam Kerr gave the Matildas the early lead when she kept her composure one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the first half and the Matildas looked like they might just have the match in the bag.
Then Kerr overcooked a cross that even the unmarked statuesque Katie Gill couldn't get a head on, Polkinghorne steamed in to choke an open-goal opportunity and, 15 minutes before fulltime, the Koreans got a sniff of a comeback. An onslaught of attacks that saw the Matildas scrambling eventually saw them concede a goal and, locked at one goal apiece, the game went to extra time.
I'll admit I had my head in my hands at this point as I desperately needed to go to sleep and the Matildas should really have been three goals up and lining up to be awarded the Asian Cup. The Koreans hit the upright less than a minute into extra time and the Matildas - no disrespect to them - had the wobbles.
There were two scary ricocheting moments when goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri was forced to come off her line but couldn't quite save or contain the ball. Somehow, though, the Matildas held on to keep the Koreans goalless and managed to retain their composure in spite of being robbed of at least one free kick just outside the box when Gill was tackled from behind and Polkinghorne was bodychecked very late and very deliberately just minutes from extra time full time.
Still tied up at the end of extra time, the match then went to heart-stopping penalties. Given that, statistically speaking, the team that goes first in penalty shoot outs often wins, I had a bad feeling when Korea won the toss and stepped up first. I had an even worse feeling when they scored.
Then Sally Shipard, who'd been one of only two Matildas to score in a similar penalty shoot out in 2006, to the Matildas' first penalty and slotted the ball in low and to the right.
The second Korean player to take the penalty appeared so confident that she didn't spend much time lining up the ball or the shot. Quite incredibly, she skewed the shot wide and missed and Kylie Ledbrook, who had already scored from a penalty during the tournament, put away the Matildas' second, edging the Koreans out 2-1.
Korea levelled it at 2-2 with a shot that Barbieri tipped but couldn't stop. Gill scored her second goal of the tournament with an assured shot, but Korea equalised again, this time with an impressive shot to the top left corner that Barbieri couldn't do anything about.
Heather Garriock made it 4-3, before the Koreans clawed back to 4-4. Then Kyah Simon stepped up to take the final-and final-deciding-penalty.
And. She. Scored.
As with the celebration that followed the final 2006 World Cup-qualifying penalty in 2006, I think the Matildas' post-penalty victory will forever remain etched in my memory. The look on the faces of the players running in to congratulate Simon, Simon's aeroplane dive into the mud, the subsequent stacks on by everyone when they got to her, and Barbieri's victory dance are something that we'll be replaying for some time.
It was a fitting end to a match that, albeit sleep-depriving and heart-stopping, certainly gave us our watching's worth. And who needs sleep when we can be celebrating the Matildas' inaugural Asian Cup victory?! Who else is coming to the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany?!
