After countless squad rebuilds, six years and five permanent managers, the Western Sydney Wanderers have finally sealed their return to the A-League Men finals.
Brandon Borrello led the charge for Marko Rudan's men, scoring their first-half opener and setting up Amor Layouni's 81st minute winner in a 2-1 defeat of Melbourne Victory on Saturday.
Rudan becomes the first manager to pilot the Wanderers to a top-six finish since the man in the opposite dugout, Tony Popovic, was in charge of the club.
Popovic's Victory came into the game needing a win to have any realistic hope of keeping within touching distance of the finals places.
After Borrello's goal they equalised through Nishan Velupillay but Roderick Miranda's send-off shortly afterwards was a hammer-blow for the Melburnian outfit.
A win for Sydney FC over Perth Glory on Sunday will end Victory's finals ambition.
Rudan's sole concern, meanwhile, will be a late injury to playmaker Milos Ninkovic, who tested Victory goalkeeper Paul Izzo early in the first half at CommBank Stadium.
The reflexes of their No. 1 kept Victory level until the final minute of first-half added time when Ninkovic played a ball over the top for Borrello.
The in-form Wanderers frontman beat three static Victory defenders to the ball and was able to poke past Izzo to give the Wanderers a 1-0 lead at the break.
Velupillay pulled one back for Victory in the 56th minute but their hopes of a comeback were quickly quelled when Miranda was dismissed three minutes later.
The defender lunged in on Borrello as he went on a darting run.
Referee Chris Beath initially booked him but as the Socceroos forward lay on the ground calling for assistance, Beath checked VAR and upgraded his card from a yellow to a red.
Victory began to sit a lot deeper as Popovic reshuffled his side to cover Miranda's absence.
Yeni Ngbakoto flashed a header wide and at one point it looked as if the Wanderers wouldn't do it.
But a burst from Borrello up the middle of the field created the space for Layouni's winner which booked the Wanderers' passage to the finals.
