The vultures were circling and Ian Ferguson knew it.
It was Christmas 2011, but there was a distinct lack of festive cheer at Glory HQ.
The men in purple had won only once in their previous nine games, sliding towards the foot of the table in the process and back-to-back December home defeats at the hands of Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Heart had left Fergie hanging onto his head Coach position by a thread.
Nothing had been said officially, but it was widely believed that another defeat in the New Year’s Eve away clash with Newcastle Jets would see the end of the Rangers legend’s tenure in the dugout.
With such ominous storm clouds gathering, it was perhaps little wonder that the Round 13 fixture at what was then known as AusGrid Stadium would prove to be so dramatic.
Enter stage, Billy Mehmet.
Having arrived in the off-season, the former St Mirren striker had been a regular starter in the first half of the campaign, opening his account for the club on debut against Adelaide United and adding another in the home defeat to Heart.
At times, the attacking trio of Mehmet, Shane Smeltz and Travis Dodd had impressed, but much like the rest of the team, they had not done so on a consistent basis as the run of lacklustre results testified.
As destiny would have it, Mehmet was to prove both hero and villain in New South Wales on an afternoon when Glory featured in the football equivalent of a classic boxing crossroads fight.
Fergie’s side were up against a talented Jets outfit featuring the likes of Michael Bridges, Kasey Wehrman, Francis Jeffers and Jeremy Brockie and presumably lacking in confidence given their recent form.
But they started like a house on fire and it was that man Mehmet who fired them into an early lead, hooking his leg around Tiago Calvano to steer a Josh Risdon cross past Ben Kennedy.
The scoreline stayed that way past the half-hour mark when the next dramatic scene unfolded and once again, Mehmet was the key protagonist.
Perhaps chastened by the way the Glory man had picked his pocket for the goal, Calvano appeared to raise his foot as Mehmet slid in for what was a no-holds-barred challenge on the touchline right in front of the technical areas.
Down went the Brazilian, throwing in a couple of rolls and a scream of anguish for good measure, up rose both benches and some pushing and shoving ensued with Jacob Burns and future Glory Head Coach Ruben Zadkovich, predictably, both very much to the fore.
Referee Strebre Delovski stepped in and produced a red card which seemed a touch harsh and then even harsher when it was brandished in the direction of Mehmet rather than Calvano.
A booking apiece would surely have sufficed, but it was not to be and the visibly stunned former West Ham youth player was soon heading back to the changing rooms.
And Glory could have been reduced to nine men shortly before the break, Delovski somehow seeing nothing wrong with what looked like a blatant foul from Todd Howarth on a clean-through-on-goal Ryan Griffiths.
The incensed visitors did finally manage to make their numerical advantage count when Jeffers headed home on the hour-mark to make it 1-1, but if they expected Glory to buckle under the pressure of their late onslaught, they were to be proved wrong.
Chances came and went, while Fergie, surely aware of what a Jets winner would mean for his future, prowled the technical area like a snarling mountain lion.
There were subdued celebrations from players and staff when Delovski sounded the final whistle and a point had been secured, but only the most one-eyed Glory fan could have predicted what was to follow.
Because for Fergie and co, that crossroads game in Newcastle started a journey that would culminate in the club’s first ever A-League Grand Final.
Five days later, all-conquering Brisbane Roar were held to a 3-3 draw in Perth and five of the next six games yielded maximum points as Glory went from wooden-spoon candidates to serious top-four contenders.
Glorious Finals victories over Heart, Wellington Phoenix and the Mariners were to come ahead of the now infamous denouement at Suncorp Stadium.
But if you connect the dots, it is hard to deny that the road to Suncorp really began four months earlier and some 600km south in the Hunter Valley.
#ONEGlory
