Leading up to the match, some were saying that when Melbourne Victory hosted Western Sydney Wanderers, that it had the potential to be the match of the season. From all reports in the media, it was. The battle on the pitch and the noise and colour off it added to the incredible spectacle that only our sport can create.

I spent the weekend travelling to and from Melbourne and losing my voice in the stands - something that was promptly noted by work colleagues on Monday morning.

I had the pleasure of spending most of my Friday on a minibus with over 20 other Wanderers supporters. The majority of the trip down to Melbourne was spent chanting in the bus, perfecting those that some were not sure of, and even learning new ones. There were also stopovers at Goulburn where firstly we had an impromptu football match at a local park (which probably didn’t allow ball games) and then schooled the locals at the pub in RBB chants. Their looks of bewilderment of having a couple dozen people singing their lungs out was a highlight.

After stopping overnight in a border town, creating noise at midnight when we arrived, then leaving before anyone else in the caravan park woke up - most probably thought the ruckus was a dream - we headed towards the southern state. We made sure Victoria were aware of our arrival in a number of ways as our noisy bus entered the city.

In true Wanderers supporter’s fashion we chanted for a few blocks as we walked to the rendezvous pub. As always, the locals would stare in amazement at two dozen odd fans in red and black singing songs loudly through their streets. Most had their cameras out to record the small contingent, others shook their heads in ignorant disgust muttering “hooligans” or “wankers” to my personal delight. I don’t think they even knew what sport or team we were supporting to be honest.

Along the way we crossed paths with other fans making their way to the same destination and they joined our merry band as we entered the pub chanting at the top of our lungs and getting those already in there in the spirit of the occasion. We met old friends that we haven’t seen for months, and almost every face was a familiar one as more and more people made their way to the meeting point. This felt rather like a home game.

A few of us on the bus decided that we needed to teach those inside the pub the new chant, so we belted it out at the top of our lungs and the few that already knew it responded in kind. The song spread through the pub like wildfire and by the time we finally stopped singing it after 15 minutes, the entire pub knew it by heart.

Then it was time to march, as we always do, to the stadium. There were upwards of 700 odd fans in red and black that gathered at the pub to march as one to AAMI Park. We made our voices heard as we entered the stadium grounds and gathered around the gates squeezing in. It was an hour until kickoff but that didn’t stop us from singing our lungs out in the impressive AAMI Park until kickoff. Even the commentators made mention of this fact.

Apparently this was the first time, outside of finals, that AAMI Park’s away bays were sold out by an interstate team. Leading up to the match, the stadium had to keep opening up new bays for sale for the hundreds of Wanderers fans making the trip down. Amazing for a debut team.

It truly felt like a massive game atmosphere in there. The sound was deafening, live and on the telecast. The RBB didn’t stop all game. There were even comments from Melbourne fans that complained that the singing never ceased, stating something along the lines of “some quiet to watch the game would have been nice at times”. The way the bays were structured, with an entrance to the field separating us, was perfect for various call and response chants we use. We used it to our advantage.

Finally seeing the Northern Terrace live at their home ground was a sight to behold. They were full of colour and noise and flags and it’s easy to see why they are considered the best in active support in the A-League. Watching the telecast a couple days later and the volume of noise they create is amazing.

When La Rocca slotted past Coe in the 10th minute, the away fans were the only thing heard in the stadium. Amazing that Melbourne’s normally very vocal support were silenced so soon. But the game was far from over. It was played at a frantic pace and we all cheered just as loud as when the goal was scored when our rock hard defence foiled what should have been a goal when Melbourne had a 3 to 1 advantage following a counter attack.

The first half flew by and before we knew it, the second half was underway. The game’s pace did not stop but when Ono calmly, as if in slow motion, passed the ball into the net after Coe again parried a shot right at a Western Sydney player, we felt that this massive result was within touching distance. Ono ran towards his adoring fans and proceeded to dance a little jig with a huge smile on his face as the Japanese fans within the away section lost their mind that their national hero scored right in front of them.

But just as quickly as the result was seemingly sewn up, Melbourne struck on an uncharacteristic mistake in communication and pinged one back. The next 15 minutes were nail biting as both teams gave it their all to get the result they desired. The fans on both sides were doing the same.

When the final whistle finally blew, we couldn’t believe it. This was a massive result for the team. It gave us a 5 point gap between 2nd and 3rd and all we needed now was for Central Coast to drop points against Perth so we could close the gap on them. In a great turn of fortune, we all celebrated their loss a couple hours later.

As par the course, the away section was held back as the stadium emptied around us. But we didn’t even notice. We just continued to sing and attempted to bring the house down when the team came over to celebrate with us; who led a “who do you sing for?” chant with the 1000 odd fans jam packed in the away corner. They love it, we love it, we all sing together - players and fans alike.

From memory, Melbourne had been undefeated for 10 games at home this season and 7 games at AAMI Park. Western Sydney had just broken both of these records as their dream run continues with no end in sight. We are now only 1 point behind Central Coast who are hosting Melbourne Victory next round before they host Western Sydney. As this information sinks in, we start to realise that we could be in first place after next weekend if we get past a seemingly revived Perth Glory.

Bring it on.