By Julian Trantino (@jtrantino16)

Ballarat Red Devils last night grabbed its first National Premier Leagues (NPL) win in stunning fashion, with a bizarre goal in the final 10 seconds handing it a 3-2 win away to Goulburn Valley Suns.

Up 2-1 with one minute of regulation time remaining, Ballarat looked to have the three points sealed until Kristian Sarkies smashed in the rebound from his saved penalty to bring the Suns level.

But the jubilation of the Suns' fans was short-lived, with substitute Michael Trigger floating in his corner at the death to spark wild celebrations from the Red Devils camp.

The finish to a five-goal thriller wasn’t the only drama to take place at McEwen Reserve in Shepparton.

Kick-off was delayed by 20 minutes with paramedics still on the pitch treating one of Ballarat’s U20 players who had broken his ankle in the abandoned match prior.

Undeterred by their club’s unfortunate loss, the Red Devils came out firing and found the breakthrough in the third minute.

Suns left-back Zach Paraskevas sliced a clearance from a cross, which fell to electrifying Ballarat winger Dom Swinton for the easiest of tap-ins.

The goal sparked the Suns into action, and guilt-edged chances missed by Hernan Espindola and Craig Carley soon after showed they were coming.

Come they did in the 19th minute, when Carley expertly tucked away a penalty awarded for a handball.

An end-to-end first half saw both sides enter the break locked at 1-1, and it took a moment of brilliance for Ballarat to hit the lead again in the 62nd minute.

Swinton, a clear best on ground, gained possession on the edge of the 18-yard box, weaved past three defenders and curled in a sublime shot to complete his brace.

The goal had come against the run of play, with the Suns creating more goalscoring chances but being cruelled – just as they were in Round 1 – by poor finishing.

The Suns were desperate for an equaliser and the Red Devils were hellbent on sealing the win, as the intensity reached fever pitch and a total of seven yellow cards were handed out.

The final yellow card was shown to Ballarat ‘keeper Aaron Romein in the 89th minute, when he brought down Suns midfielder Ben Clarke to give away a penalty.

Sarkies stepped up to the spot and Romein redeemed himself with a fine save, but he was rendered helpless when the rebound fell kindly to Sarkies, who was greeted by an empty net and converted.

Just as the Suns looked like they would walk away with their first point in their NPL campaign, it was Trigger who pulled the trigger and shot down their hopes.

His corner in the final minute of injury time somehow evaded everyone in the box, and even Suns ‘keeper Phil Petrevski couldn’t keep it out as it nestled into the top right-hand corner to seal an unforgettable win for Ballarat.

Ballarat player-coach James Robinson praised the spirit of his players.

“It’s great character from the boys to concede a second goal to be level and then go on to score with the last kick of the game,” Robinson said.

“The attitude from the group is that we never give up. We still look, we still probe and if there’s a minute left on the clock there’s still time to score.

“It was fantastic for the spectators and this is the joy of football. This is why we all love it.”

Goulburn Valley captain Naum Sekulovski lamented his side’s lapses but said the Suns, who finalised their squad on the eve of the season, were improving each week.

“It’s disappointing to cop a goal at the death. It’s tough, but that’s the nature of the game. We’ve got to pick ourselves up and build for next week,” Sekulovski said.

“We have to look at stringing together a good 90 minutes of football. We just need to focus on being there during every minute. There are plenty of positives to build on...the longer we have together the better we’ll get.”

Goulburn Valley will play its first away match when it travels to Heidelberg United in Round 3, while Ballarat will look to maintain its unbeaten start – its Round 1 match was postponed – away to powerhouse Northcote City.

MATCH DETAILS

FT: Goulburn Valley Suns 2 (Carley pen. 19’, Sarkies 89’) lost to Ballarat Red Devils 3 (Swinton 3’ 62’, Trigger 90’+3) at McEwen Reserve (HT: 1-1)

Goulburn Valley Suns: 1. Phil PETROVSKI (GK), 2. Cody SELLWOOD, 3. Zach PARASKEVAS, 4. Naum SEKULOVSKI, 5. Nick KALAFATIS, 6. Joshua GLOVER (12. Daniel CHAABANI 81’), 7. Ben CLARKE, 8. Hernan ESPINDOLA, 11. Stipo ANDRIJASEVIC, 10. Kristian SARKIES, 9. Craig CARLEY (15. Ridvan SAGLAM 77’)

Unused subs: 14. Joseph HEGARTY, 16. Raman TAVA, 22. Jake KEATING

Yellow cards: Glover 1’, Kalafatis 7’, Carley 68’, Andrijasevic 73’

Red cards: None

Ballarat Red Devils: 1. Aaron ROMEIN (GK), 16. Charlie KING, 25. Steven THOMSON, 18. Daniel O’DONNELL, 3. Daniel TINKER, 6. Liam HARDING, 17. Shaun ROMEIN (13. Michael TRIGGER 70’), 15. Dom SWINTON (20. Bolish SALVATORE 77’), 11. Nelson SALVATORE, 22. Pat KARRAS (29. Harley BOSHER 85’), 31. Simon MURPHY

Unused subs: 40. Jordan FRANKEN, 2. Tristan ROMEIN

Yellow cards: Harding 37’, O’Donnell 77’, A.Romein 89’

Red cards: None

Pictured: Dom Swinton slams home Ballarat's second goal.