HE admits a little bit of luck was involved, but Rhyan Grant certainly relished the moment he scored the match winner for Sydney FC in Sunday's A-League grand final against Melbourne City.
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In the 100th minute of the match at Bankwest Stadium, Canowindra's Grant made yet another of his trademark runs out of defence into attack.
As he charged towards the back post he was spotted by Sydney FC team-mate Luke Brattan. His driving, diagonal pass was met by the chest of Grant, the ball beating diving City goalkeeper Tom Glover.
His extra-time effort was the only goal of the grand final, handing Sydney FC a record fifth A-League championship.
It also saw him win the Joe Marston Medal as best on ground.
"I was maybe a little bit lucky with it, but I thought you know put the keeper off with the chest rather than the head and it looked like it worked, so happy days," Grant said.
"I said to Bimbi [coach Steve Corica] before the game that I thought I was going to score and I was just having a joke, but in the back of the mind I thought I was a chance.
"I thought tonight I might get a bit lucky and the way it went in I did get a little bit lucky, but as my old man always says, you've got to create your own luck.
"I'm over the moon to score, but even more happy to collect another trophy for such a great club."
Sunday's goal was not the first time Grant has scored in a grand final for the sky blues. Last year against Perth Glory he scored the sealing penalty, while in 2017 it was his 69th effort which sent the decider against Melbourne Victory into extra-time.
Before his latest goal, Grant had his nervous moments in defence.
City started the better of the two sides, firing in five attempts in the opening 10 minutes. Then in the 18th minute the visitors had a Harrison Delbridge goal denied by VAR as his team-mate Lachlan Wales was ruled to have impaired the vision of Sydney goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne while standing in an offside position.
They were under pressure, but Sydney and Grant lifted and kept coming.
In the 27th minute Sydney had its appeal for a penalty waved away when Adam Le Fondre fell in the box after a tangling with City defender Curtis Good.
The chances continued to come down both ends, but with neither side able to find the mark, the game went into extra-time.
That is when Grant's extraordinary work ethic was rewarded as he scored his second goal of the season and ninth of his 12-year A-League career with Sydney FC.
"We didn't start great, we were a bit shaky, we couldn't get the ball on the deck and play football. City they started really well, they came at us in the first half," Grant said.
"As a grand final it can be a bit end-to-end at times and a bit cagey I suppose. We just had to ride that out and make sure when we got our chances we too them.
"You got to be in the right place at the right time, but you make your own luck sometimes."