Green Gully coach Arthur Papas said his team deserved to beat Central Coast Mariners in the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 on Tuesday night in what was a sensational upset in Melbourne.
The Mariners looked set to advance on Tuesday night as they led by a solitary goal with five minutes remaining but a late flurry from Gully saw the home side triumph 2-1 in Melbourne's northern suburbs.
Westfield FFA Cup wrap: Round of 32 MD 2
Captain Daniel Jones equalised in fortuitous circumstances as his strike deflected off Liam Boland, who was in an offside position.
Then Boland clinched a famous victory for Gully with a 40-yard wonder-goal in stoppage time.
Video: FFA Cup R32 MD2 Goals wrap
Despite the nature of Gully's two goals, Papas insisted his team were worthy of their win.
"Proud of the last six minutes but proud of the whole game, to be honest," Papas said afterwards.
"I thought from the word 'Go' we didn't take a back step."
Gully joined NPL South Australia club Adelaide City as the only lower-league clubs to eliminate A-League opposition in FFA Cup history.
Adelaide City defeated Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 in 2014.
Papas reckons it's unlikely that Gully's win will spark a run of upsets.
"We've done something special, absolutely. It's not going to happen many times, that's for certain," he said.
"I mean, if you look at all cup competitions around the world, you end up with these situations very rarely - a semi-professional team can go out and take the game to a professional team.
"But like I said, the performance warrants the victory I believe."
