TEN months ago Lambton Jaffas attacker Matthew Cahill spent agonising hours not knowing if he'd walk again after crashing off a cliff while mountain-biking.
Playing football again - let alone against an A-League club - was the furthest thing from his mind.
On Tuesday, Cahill celebrates his 24th birthday with a fresh perspective on life and football when he and the Jaffas tackle A-League heavyweights Melbourne Victory at Jack McLaughlan Oval (7.30pm) in the Australia Cup's round of 32.
Cahill was one of the key recruits for the 2023 NPL NNSW champions this year but he missed the opening rounds after a frightening accident in October.
The former Jets and Mariners academy player was riding with friends in Kincumber Mountain Reserve when he went off a trail and fell nine metres, landing on his lower back on a log. The whiplash effect broke two vertebrae in his neck, leaving him paralysed temporarily. His friends called emergency services and Cahill was airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital.
"I'm lucky to be walking," Cahill said.
"As I went off the cliff, I was like, this isn't good. Then there was heaps of pain. I was on my back and I went to just try to sit up and nothing happened. Then I tried to use my arms and legs, and nothing happened.
"I started to be able to wiggle my fingers and toes when the paramedics came, but they didn't know if I was going to be able to walk again.
"I had to go in for a scan and they couldn't tell me if I was going to be able to walk again until I got the results. It was a scary couple of hours, but then the good news came. As long as surgery went well, I was going to make a full recovery."
Cahill's broken C5 and C6 vertebrae were fused and the intervertebral disc, which was pushing on his spinal cord, in between was replaced with spacers.
He spent two weeks on his back to ensure the fusion was complete before starting a seven-month recovery. He was back playing in late April, scoring in his second game for Jaffas in a 5-0 win over Maitland. He has since netted four more in the NPL.
"I was definitely nervous," he said of coming back. "My neck is a bit stiff, but apart from that, it's all right. I've scored with a couple of headers this season, but in the back of my mind, I still think about it."
The Central Coast product played professionally in Hong Kong in 2020-21, after a stint with the University of Wisconsin and the Mariners. He returned to the NSW NPL with APIA Leichhardt then North West Sydney Spirit before joining the Jaffas.
The exercise and sports science student still has ambitions to further his football career and he was excited about the chance to showcase his talents against Victory. But he was also grateful just to be still playing.
"Coming through the academy, I had a little bit of exposure to the first team in the A-League, but it's been quite a few years now. So it's good to verse professional players in Australia and see how you come up against them," he said.
"You've seen NPL clubs score goals against A-League teams so far in the round of 32, so I'm hoping I can do something similar.
"But my outlook on life is completely different. When the thought of not walking again pops into your head, you don't think about anything else other than being able to use your arms and legs.
"There's still aspirations, if I could kick on to the A-League. I'm 23 so I've only got a couple of years realistically, but I'd love to push onto a professional level, like I was a couple of years ago.
"After the accident, I was more grateful for being able to move my body, so rather than taking football and being able to train and go kick a ball with your mates for granted, I want to try to enjoy it more because I know it almost got taken away."
Jaffas have slipped to second in the NPL on 46 points, now three behind Broadmeadow, after losing four of their past five games. That came after a 27-game unbeaten run taking in last year's premiership and grand final.
With two rounds remaining, Lambton are desperate to get their push for silverware back on track with a top performance against Victory.
"Everyone is pretty keen, we're all buzzing," Cahill said.
"We just want to get out there and see what we can do against them. We've seen a couple of NPL clubs go close and the Melbourne team [Oakleigh Cannons] actually beat Sydney FC.
"We're not in a great run of form, but it's not a bad way to change how we're going by picking up a result against a big club like Melbourne."
