The change that got Australia to the World Cup:Redmayne (left) comes on for Mat Ryan.Credit:Getty
Having been besieged by setbacks from a young age,Redmayne rediscovered his confidence with Sydney FC. He was handed the A-League’s golden gloves as goalkeeper of the year in 2020,won three premierships,three championships and an Australia Cup (formerly the FFA Cup). He became a cult hero at Moore Park,earning the nicknames “Bluemayne” or “The Pink Wiggle” - the latter for his theatrics and dance moves before facing penalties.
On Tuesday morning,the man who nearly abandoned his professional career became a fan favourite of the entire country and earned a new nickname - “The Grey Wiggle”,due to the keeping kit he was wearing.
Redmayne replaced Socceroos captain Mat Ryan a minute before the penalty shootout and made the crucial save thatsealed the country’s fifth consecutive World Cup qualification. Dancing along the goal line as he has done throughout his A-League career,Redmayne read Alex Valera’s penalty perfectly,diving to his right to seal the 5-4 win on penalties and send Australia to Qatar.
His reaction went viral – a celebration that looked as much astonished as ecstatic.
After the save,Redmayne pointed to his teammates before standing still with his hands his mouth wide open.
His action wasn’t done to draw the attention of the broadcasters,more that he was warned not to get too excited by referee Slavko Vincic.
“He said on the last two penalties:‘If you save this,then you win’. That’s kind of how it hit home,” Redmayne said.
“He said:‘don’t go running off because we need to check on VAR if you’ve come off the line because you move around a lot so don’t go running or celebrating’.
Arnold revealed after the match that the substitution was months in the planning and that he had brought Redmayne into the squad for penalties.
Loading
The 33-year-old goalkeeper knew his role.
“It’s a plan that was floated a month to six weeks ago and I probably didn’t think it would end this way,” Redmayne said.
He had trained specifically for penalties in the days leading into the match and he knew he would only be thrown in for the clutch moment. Even then,he refused to take the glory.
“I’m no hero,” Redmayne said after the match. “I just played my role like everyone else did tonight. The boys,the 11 on the pitch did much more than that.”
The man who nearly gave up the game got Australia to the World Cup. If he ever does become a primary school teacher one day,he’ll have one story that will always keep the attention of the class.
Sports news,results and expert commentary.Sign up for our Sport newsletter.