Australia Cup specialist Liam Boland was at it again last Tuesday, coming off the bench for Olympic Kingsway to score a late equaliser, then decisive penalty in extra time to defeat Melbourne Victory in the Round of 32, 4-3.
The double extends Boland’s record goalscoring tally in the competition’s modern iteration to fifteen – a remarkable enough feat for an A-League player, let alone for one who’s spent his career at state-league level where qualification year on year proves more difficult. He’s scored every time he’s met A-League opposition, during time with Green Gully, Avondale and now Kingsway.
In his second season back in his hometown of Perth he’s not been without challenges, featuring just three times in the league while battling injury. His exuberance as the ball hit the net on Tuesday celebrated not just progression to the Round of 16, but personally the end of a long road back.
‘It’s a special tournament, and one for guys like me to showcase what they’re about and maybe haven’t had professional opportunities to do so. It’s something I’ve enjoyed over the past decade, and I like to prove people wrong in that sense’, Boland told Box2Box.
‘I had a pretty bad back injury in the Cup final at the end of last season. I had nerve damage all the way into my right foot, so was basically operating at 30% in my right foot and for months wasn’t able to kick a ball.
‘I agreed with the coaches that I’d just come off the bench for the rest of the season, luckily I did that the other night, and it’s not wrong to say those goals meant a little bit more because of that.’
A genuine goal machine in the Victorian NPL, where he also holds the all-time record for most goals with 104 from 189 matches, Boland has spent his career knocking on the door of professional football and has not been shy in admitting the lack of opportunity has hurt.
He also admits to having ridden the emotional wave of Australian football’s inability to integrate a national second division, which would theoretically tighten the gap between professional and semi-professional ranks. At 33 he concedes his chance has just about passed.
‘I was more engaged with it at a younger age. I moved over East to try and further my football career [professionally], and obviously that didn’t happen. You keep a gauge on it but it becomes so frustrating not just for semi-pro footballers but Australian football lovers, who have been starving for something like this for decades.
‘There’s so much talent at NPL level and the gap has closed over the past decade, seeing more Cupsets and things like that. I speak for myself and also those I’ve played with: at times, it’s ‘what more do I have to do?’
‘I feel the B-League was a step in the right direction but that’s kind of hit a wall – we hear whispers and we’re not sure if it’s going ahead. Promotion and relegation would be a really good thing, but I also think they need to put a limit on those [A-League clubs] bring in from overseas, because I don’t think that’s doing the game any favours.’
So in spite of his lack of professional career it’s been the Australia Cup where Boland has carved his legacy in the local game, and will be remembered fondly when his career is all said and done. He was central to the modern competition’s second Cupset, netting from distance for Green Gully against Central Coast in 2016; the late Mike Cockerill’s commentary providing an iconic early soundtrack.
His two goals in a losing cause against Adelaide United contributed to his naming as last season’s Mike Cockerill medalist for best state-league level player in the competition. Kingsway have a more manageable Round of 16 draw this time around, against Brisbane City. Beyond that a meeting with Avondale, where he spent the bulk of his near-decade in Victoria, lies on the cards.
‘I was pretty lucky Mike was there on that night that goal went in, and I was lucky last season to win the medal, which is one of the highlights of my career. I used to watch all the A-League games with Mike calling, a very good caller who loved the sport, so it was a privilege to have him call the goal that people kind of remember me by – a special moment between him and I, in that sense.
‘We have respect for Brisbane City, and it’s going to be hard going away to any ground at this stage of the competition, but it is a draw that presents a massive opportunity for us. If we can get through that it would be a trip back to Avondale, who’ll beat APIA!’
‘I don’t want to think about it just yet but I’m pretty hungry and will do whatever it takes to get that game to be honest, against mates and people I call family in Melbourne.’