Lawrence Thomas knows he will feature in every highlights reel for this A-League season for the wrong reason.
The Melbourne Victory goalkeeper is the one watching and then diving in vain as Tim Cahill's 40-metre rocket scorched past him and into the net in this season's first Melbourne derby.
"It's a great finish," Thomas told AAP, underplaying the strike just a touch.
It was perhaps the A-League's best ever goal.
The stunning moment had Melbourne City fans screaming, Victory fans speechless, and Thomas himself sprawled on the grass.
But the mature 24-year-old gloveman has already accepted it as the goalkeeper's lot.
And there's no way he'll be retreating from his advanced position as a sweeper-keeper when Cahill or any other forward is on the ball, 40 metres from goal.
"If I cop one of those a season I'll take that on the chin," he said. "Nonetheless I'll continue to be in that position.
"I cut out a lot more balls coming through than I do conceding goals from that position and the ones I cut out are one-on-one chances."
While Thomas conceded four on that October night, it'd be hard to pin blame for any of them at his feet. And since then, Thomas has formed part of one of the meanest A-League defences.
Victory has conceded just five goals in seven games - and one in the last month -- to surge to third on the A-League table.
Thomas -- who was in goal for Victory's 2015 grand final win -- said he was feeling confident after starting an A-League season as Victory's first-choice gloveman.
"I feel like I'm having a solid season. That's the greatest thing about getting a regular league spot, you get a chance weekly to perform," he said.
"I look back at the goals I have conceded and quite a few of them have been great finishes.
"I'm not happy to concede. I never want to get beaten.
"But if you're covering certain areas of the goal and people are beating you by off the post and in or top corners, then y'know."
A win over City would have Kevin Muscat's side in second place with that catch-up game against the Wellington Phoenix to come.
Thomas said he believed Victory's early-season inconsistency had been banished and a derby day success would cement their resurgence.
"One week we looked fantastic and the next we didn't turn up," he said.
"But the last patch of five, six, seven games has been very solid. The inconsistency is gone and we're in decent form.
"It's a massive game and especially for the fans.
"Coming into Christmas, we have a massive responsibility to send fans home happy."