Gold Coast break Victory hearts late on

Gold Coast United have knocked out the Melbourne Victory with a hard fought 1-0 injury time win in their A-League elimination semi-final at Skilled Park of Sunday.

The victory sees the Gold Coast set up a clash with Adelaide United which will take place at Hindmarsh Stadium.

The match was played in scorching temperatures and looked destined for extra time until defender Dino Djulbic scored the only goal of the game when he headed home in the 90th minute to seal a dramatic win for United.

The match was the Gold Coast's final match of the season at Skilled Park and only 3,281 fans turned up to farewell Steve Pantelidis, Zenon Caravella and Bas van den Brink. With Jason Culina and Shane Smeltz negotiating with other clubs the season is proving to be the end of an era for the current United squad.

In a tense first half both sides shared numerous chances, but failed to break the deadlock.

Melbourne started the better of the two sides, creating two opportunities with Danny Allsopp and Socceroos striker Robbie Kruse testing goalkeeper Glen Moss within the first ten minutes of the game.

Arguably the best chance of the first half fell to the Gold Coast in the 29th minute after Ivorian Adama Traore embarked on a dazzling run. A Traore through-ball found Tahj Minniecon, whose powerful shot flew just over the bar.

Traore was a constant threat throughout the first-half however injury ended his night early in the second half, forward Joel Porter replacing him.

The change almost provided instant dividends for Miron Bleiberg’s team when Porters long range volley rattled the crossbar following a Peter Perchtold cross in the 55th minute.

In front of their home fans the Gold Coast began to press on to find the opening goal with Caravella coming close in the 60th minute when his shot was well saved by Victory goalkeeper Michael Petkovic.

The last fifteen minutes proved to be a nerve racking affair as both sides shared numerous chances to find the crucial goal, Smeltz and Minniecon both testing Petkovic with stunning long range efforts.

United almost took the lead in the 78th minute when a goal mouth scramble nearly saw the ball dribble into the goals. However, the ever reliable Victory captain and former Fulham defender Adrian Leijer casually back heeled the ball to safety.

Former Socceroos striker Archie Thompson almost broke the deadlock when his fierce shot drew a great reflex save from Glenn Moss.

United fans had their hearts in their mouths late on when a clumsy foul gave Costa Rican Carlos Hernandez a chance to open the scoring from a set piece. The playmaker stepped up and saw his long range free kick cannon into the cross bar.

Allsopp then fluffed a glorious opportunity in the 85th minute after some more brilliant trickery from midfield playmaker Hernandez.

The missed opportunity would come back to bite Allsopp as just when the game looked certain to enter extra time United broke Victory hearts. The impressive German import Perchtold delivered a perfect cross for Djulbic who rose highest to head past Moss to send the Gold Coast fans into raptures.