Saving the best for last, a massive Bendigo Amateur Soccer League boilover occurs on the final day

Sure, the boys in blue knew a week in advance that relegation was no longer a threat, stranding them in the purgatory of seventh place on the table.

Did any of that matter come the final whistle at McEwen Reserve on Sunday, though? It sure didn’t look like it.

United welcomed Tatura to town as the final round’s only local match-up, with every position on the table mathematically decided in advance by the three Saturday meetings out west.

While the occasion looked devoid of meaning for the home side, the Ibises came in with what appeared a simple proposition — complete the perfect, or at least undefeated, regular season.

Averaging six goals a contest, there was little evidence on hand to suggest anything other than the outing we’ve come to expect from the defending champions.

The Tatura stars were certainly out there too, getting right in the thick of it as playing coach Tristan Zito saw his name enter the referee’s book following his involvement in a few altercations.

It threatened to get feisty a time or two, but never truly boiled beyond a simmer on the pitch, and an ultimately goalless first half certainly left more questions than answers among the observers — particularly those in red.

A large part of the 0-0 scoreline was United centre-back Tegra Kabala, arguably best-on throughout the day with a series of no-nonsense clearances that were keeping his side on level terms as Tatura upped the ante after the break.

Rookie sensation Xavier Black stuck a leg out during a penalty-area pinball, but helplessly watched his contact skew wide of the left stick.

It still felt like a matter of when, not if, Tatura would open its account, but this was more due to the credit that had been built up during the year than creating a raft of key chances on the day.

Then came the moment, just over an hour in.

A lofting ball into United’s area found only Tatura heads before Abdullah Farhood unleashed an overhead volley that comically drifted backwards out of the box.

Ermal Marku wasn’t about to let the moment peter out, though, taking possession on the edge of the area with his back to goal and unleashing a superb turn and left-footed finish past Daniel Coombs to send the blue half of McEwen into euphoria.

The remaining 20 to 25 minutes saw the Ibises largely control play, save a few looping counter-attack balls, but the urgency was well and truly up.

A series of wild ricochets in the box off a set piece eventually found the ball in the back of Tatura’s net, sparking some no doubt relieved celebrations.

There was certainly an equal and opposite reaction from United’s faithful upon seeing the linesman’s flag go up for offside, and from there, it was all about holding and holding some more to secure a famous 1-0 win.

As stated earlier, there wasn’t much beyond the result itself for United to achieve, but the premiership-level ecstasy on and off the pitch post-match demonstrated otherwise as Tatura saw its dominance broken in stunning fashion.

Coach Roven Shaholli lamented that there wasn’t more on the line, but called it a deserving send-off for his crop.

“Tatura’s been the team to beat all year and I thought we were very unlucky not to win the first time we played them,” Shaholli said.

“It was more playing for the self-respect of the boys and for them to prove themselves, and they definitely did that today.

“Things have fallen our way unfortunately a bit too late, but it’s exciting for the boys to have a party and have something to celebrate over.

“A lot of these young kids are playing their role and doing what they have to do.”

Reflecting on the season at large, Shaholli suggested that United could have been a top-three side were it not for various prohibitive factors, but ultimately revelled in the chemistry his outfit has picked up along the way.

“The main thing is keeping a consistent team, but it goes back to the fact it’s the team’s first year playing all together,” Shaholli said.

“We’ve changed positions more than I’d have liked, but we haven’t been outplayed many times this year; we were prepared for Tat to chase and had a plan to try and stop their play.

“Things are starting to fall into place and these boys have a great future ahead if they stick together.”

As for those Saturday fixtures which held a finals-relevant context, Strathdale kicked the triple-header off with a 4-1 beating of Shepparton South that left the black and white outfit at risk of falling out of the top four after a stumbling finish to the home and away campaign.

Eaglehawk, like Tatura, had little to worry about on the final day, but its 2-1 victory over relegated Spring Gully might not have been the most convincing statement ahead of finals.

South’s blushes were spared later that night, though, with United’s faint hopes snuffed out in the process, when Epsom rained goals at home to Shepparton in a 9-3 rout that had Cooper Arkinstall slam home four to move up to 15 for the year.