For the second time this season Launceston City came from behind to beat cross-town rivals Riverside Olympic 3-2 with a last-minute winner.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In round five it had been Jarrod Linger claiming the headlines, in round 15 it was Gedi Krusa, the Lithuanian showing his Eastern Bloc heritage with a Panenka-style penalty conversion.
In another sickening blow for Alex Gaetani's men, the visitors again led for much of the contest only to see the points slip away at the end.
The Olympic coach was heartbroken after his players had bounced back so well from Tuesday's demoralising 8-0 thrashing by champion-elect Devonport.
"I'm disappointed that we've lost the game in those circumstances," he said.
"I don't think we deserved to lose like that and felt we had done enough to get something out of the game.
"We are in a vulnerable spot and not because we're not good enough. I thought they responded really well to what happened on Tuesday."
Beginning a run of five home games in six fixtures, City recorded their fourth win in five and extended an unbeaten home record dating back to March, but coach Lino Sciulli wasn't totally convinced.
"I'm happy with how they fought it out but they were warned about complacency and I think some of them thought they just had to turn up to win and that was never going to be the case," he said.
"We were sloppy and and Riverside played well and credit to them after the slog they took on Tuesday."
Dan Nash made a welcome return to the Riverside goal against his old team having finally served a seven-match suspension and was largely responsible for the contest remaining so close.
A string of reliable saves in the slippery conditions even enabled his team to enjoy superiority for much of the first half after taking a fifth-minute lead.
Mitch Jones, relishing his new-found role as the central figure in a front-three, stole in behind the defence to receive Tom Prince's excellent pass and squared for Aaron Campbell to claim his first goal of the season.
Sparked into life, City were soon at their creative best but struggled to find a way past their former no.1, Stef Tantari and Yasin Mohammadi both repeatedly denied.
When the equaliser finally arrived on 36 minutes it came from a far less predictable source, Will Compagne claiming his first NPL goal by giving Nash no chance after a tidy one-two with Tantari having been played in by Krusa.
The storyline changed little after the break, although Nash needed a goalline clearance from Max Reissig to deny Mohammadi before Dan Smith stole in to put City ahead with his third derby goal on the hour.
Reissig was equally influential at the other end with a superb run into the box that led to a penalty, which Will Humphrey coolly converted with 12 minutes left.
A point apiece seemed fair enough but the tireless Krusa had other ideas, earning the late spot kick with a driving run towards goal which was ended by Prince's tackle on the edge of the box.
The manner of the subsequent conversion was fit to win any game, although Sciulli's assessment was a less-than-complimentary: "Gedi really scares me sometimes."
City had claimed both previous derbies this season, including a resounding 5-1 triumph at Windsor Park earlier this month which guaranteed possession of the Guardian Pharmacy Cup.
With main contenders Glenorchy and South Hobart facing each other at KGV on Saturday, Devonport Strikers will look to take another step towards retaining their title by recording a 10th straight win against Olympia.