ULITIMATELY, it was a season of so close, yet so far for the Ballarat Red Devils.
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The McDonalds Reds were relegated from the National Premier Leagues Victoria in the worst possible fashion on Sunday, via way of a last ditch goal to fellow struggler Port Melbourne.
Relegation aside, Ballarat produced an admirable maiden year in the NPLV.
The club finished the home and away rounds with a not-unrespectable record of eight wins, 15 losses and three draws.
Victories over Northcote City (seventh), Green Gully (10th), Pascoe Vale (ninth), Hume City (fifth) and Melbourne Knights (sixth) proves the Red Devils have what it takes to become successful in the NPLV.
Heavy losses to Port Melbourne (twice) and Werribee, plus a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Bentleigh Greens after leading 2-0 at half-time tell a different story.
They tell the story of a side that struggled for consistency since starting the year with two straight wins.
They tell the story of a team so severely decimated by injury during the mid-season rounds that its final push towards safety was, for several weeks, sustained by a number of players under 18 years of age.
Regardless of its mid season slump (five-straight losses from rounds 10-14), the Reds still put themselves in with a solid chance to keep clear of the bottom two.
A-League recruit Dane Milovanovic proved to be the biggest success story for the club, though not on the field as had been expected.
Milovanovic became one of the first (if not the first) NPLV players to be signed internationally, when he was picked up by Maldivian club New Radiant SC in June.
Red Devils player manager James Robinson drafted astutely during the mid-season transfer window to cover the departure of Milovanovic.
Favourite sons Sean Harding and David King slotted immediately into the first XI, while Bulleen recruit Paul Harvey proved to be a phenomenal pick up and found the back of the net an astonishing eight times since his inclusion.
Striker Deng Aguek remains a work in progress, but his talent is unquestioned.
Charlie King (captain), Danny O'Donnell, Liam Harding, Aaron Romein, Nelson Salvatore and Simon Murphy were the most consistent performers, and will be looked to come awards night.
The Red Devils have had their backs against the wall from the get go.
Robinson described his team as "competitive" to Football Federation Victoria after Sunday's loss to Oakleigh Cannons.
Few could argue with him.
"We just missed the boat this time, so we'll take it and we'll do a big review of where we've been and where we're at and go from there," he said.
"Never gave up, kept on pushing, kept on challenging.
"We've been competitive, I couldn't say we've been overrun - we've always been in every single game."
"We definitely belong up there, we've proved that over 26 games.
"We know what we need to do to get back in there."
Emphatic words from a man with plenty left to do, but plenty to work with.