Not only had the Scorpions slammed through two goals, South’s goalkeeper Lleyton Pain was shown a red card by the referee to make the home side’s quest for a third win even more complicated.
But as the saying goes, it’s not about how you start, but how you finish.
Murtaza Gulzari struck after half-time to get South on the board, but as swiftly as they had closed the gap, Epsom captain Cooper Arkinstall opened it back up with his second goal straight from the restart.
A breakneck two minutes saw Declan Kinnane convert a penalty and Brent Barassi draw scores level, but Arkinstall’s third goal with five minutes to play looked to have secured all three points.
Enter Rohan Byrne.
Byrne found the back of the net in the 92nd minute to lock scores at 4-4, stealing a dramatic late point from the Scorpions.
Shepparton South Isaac Brooker praised playmakers Greg Nash out of defence and Malivaï Daninthe, saying a change in mentality at the half laid the groundwork for his side’s comeback.
“It was a really mixed bag of how I feel about it,” Brooker said.
“We started so poorly in the first half, but then to have the character to come back from two-nil down with 10 men for 70 minutes, even from 3-1 down after we've just scored, the boys showed massive character just to keep pushing.
“At halftime there was a few home truths, and it was up to the boys really to turn it around, and they did.
“To get a point is a massive positive for us, but we've got to make sure we don't put ourselves in the same position in future weeks.”
Out at Spring Gully, a similar ending unfolded between the Reds and Shepparton United.
Kaidyn Tucker took the Reds 1-0 up after a goalless first half, while a swift one-two hit from Caleb Enders and Willie Sauiluma was cancelled out by Spring Gully’s Jasper Williams.
With scores level heading into added time, it was Thomas Raditsas the hero in a round full of them with the 91st-minute sealer and an undefeated record to start the season.
Meanwhile, Shepparton SC were dealt late heartbreak after Yasin Karimi’s early strike was cancelled out by an 89th-minute winner against La Trobe University.
At Golden City, a five-goal blitz in the first 20 minutes of Tatura’s clash down the highway saw the Ibises streak away to a dominant 6-0 win, Xavier Black leading the way with a brace.
In the League 1 women’s competition, Shepparton South’s unblemished start to the campaign saw them claim a 4-0 win over Kyneton on the back of two goals to Alexis Pearson and strikes to Samantha Comline and Samantha Nardella.
A stellar defensive effort and goals to Maria Villani and Olivia Loverso helped Shepparton United pick up a statement-making point against ladder leaders Spring Gully, earning a 2-2 draw on the Reds’ home pitch.
