IT just had to be Daniel McBreen.
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In what was almost certainly his last game at Jack McLaughlan Oval - where he started in under 9s - the 42-year-old former A-League golden boot became the oldest scorer in FFA Cup history with a wonder strike.
Up against his employer, the Newcastle Jets, the now junior coach and community officer, and his depleted Eagles, were always up against it. In the end, the Northern NSW NPL side went down 5-1 in the round of 16 game, but McBreen stole the show in front of a bumper crowd of 4297.
With Edgeworth down 1-0 and under siege, a long ball into the Jets defence rebounded out to McBreen who hit a first-time strike from more than 20 metres out. Catching Lewis Italiano off his line, McBreen's shot cruised in under the crossbar for 1-1 in the 16th minute.
"It's one for the highlight reel, isn't it," McBreen said.
"To finish off here, I've got a lot of memories at this ground, through Dad [Jim] and myself, over 20 years, so to have this crowd here, over 4000, it was really good. The pitch, the way it looks as well, the lights, everything has come up trumps and it's just a nice way to sign off."
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And not bad from someone who hadn't played in a month and had started in just four of 11 appearances in the NPL this campaign, after a foot injury wiped out his pre-season.
He had not featured since coming off the bench on July 20 against Maitland. Four days later he tore his calf in a light warm-up after the Eagles arrived in Darwin, the day before they beat Olympic 3-0 in the round of 32.
Throw in a holiday to Bali just last week, and McBreen was not expected to start. But with leading scorer Oliver Smith suspended and other mainstays missing, the Eagles turned to their evergreen star.
"I just noticed from the start that Lewis was off his line quite a lot so I thought if anything comes near me, I'll have a go," he said.
"It fell perfectly for me and I cracked it into the top corner, and I couldn't believe it," he laughed.
A kick to the calf ended his night at half-time and means he is unlikely to play on Sunday against Jaffas at Edden Oval in the final NPL round.
He leaves for assistant coaching duties with the Guam national side during the Eagles' semi-final campaign, but he will be back for the grand final. If the Eagles make it, you'd be a brave man to bet against another McBreen magic moment.
In 2016, when the Eagles lost 5-1 to Western Sydney Wanderers in the round of 16, McBreen also provided Edgeworth's goal and the highlight.
The second-placed Eagles are already safely in the top four, but a win over Jaffas will give them a chance at a fifth consecutive premiership and record 13th top-division title. Maitland, who are two points ahead but hold an inferior for and against, take on the Newcastle Jets Youth at Cooks Square Park on Sunday.
The Eagles were missing No.1 goalkeeper Nate Cavaliere (broken hand), skipper and leading defender Josh Evans (overseas), midfielders Keanu Moore (groin), Dylan Holz (ribs) and Jose Atayde (overseas) and Smith. Defender Dom Bizzarri (knee) was an early-season casualty, while centre-back Mitch Dobson featured only six times in between US college stints.
