Caversham's eventual 4-2 win clinched the Otago Daily Times Soccersouth Premier League championship, and confirms Steve Fleming as Otago's pre-eminent coach over the past decade.
"The team has been magnificent this season. After a slow start, they trained hard and played some superb attacking football.
"We have now won eight Southern League championships since the year 2000," Fleming said.
Even opposing clubs would admit that Caversham has done it in style.
Fleming and his assistant, Andy Deeley, have maintained a mobile passing game that gets players forward, and they have reaped a rich bounty in goals.
The coaches have instilled an attacking frame of mind throughout the whole side, encouraging the players to move the ball forward as often as possible.
After just 2min at Ellis Park, referee Allan Martin awarded a free kick, and as Robbie Deeley shaped up to take it, Wheeler nipped in and laced a curving shot past keeper Peter Evans' desperate dive, into the top right corner of Roslyn's net.
The fact that Wheeler normally just uses his left foot to stand on made the goal all the more memorable.
"Steve encourages us to be positive, so I had a go," Wheeler said.
Rocked back on its collective heels, Roslyn - which had already lost Mike Eisenhut to a back injury in the pre-match warm-up - replied with spirit.
Both Ant Hancock and Tim Dalman made dangerous runs into Caversham's penalty area.
But Caversham's ability to mount swift counter-attacks showed when fullback Jeremy Wild crossed the halfway line and left-footed a magnificent 35m shot over keeper Evans to make the score 2-0 after 17min.
Last week, Caversham made a similar explosive start and went on to beat Mosgiel 8-0, so Roslyn player-coach Terry Boylan predictably urged his team to lift its game.
Roslyn earned several corners and free kicks, and Sean Brand hit a couple of thunderbolts, but Caversham absorbed the pressure and again made the home side pay, when Wheeler darted in on a loose ball and rammed Caversham 3-0 ahead just before half-time.
Boylan brought on centreback Dave Shaw and moved himself into midfield in the second spell.
The veteran had immediate effect.
Strong in the air and powerful in the tackle, he drove his side forward, feeding passes for Hancock and Dalman.
The red machine defended deeper, and counter-punching attacks were less effective.
Both sides used long throws as a tactic.
Roslyn's Liam Dunbar hurled the ball into danger areas, and Tom Jackson showed similar athleticism.
The 300-strong home crowd roared Roslyn onwards as it sought the goal it needed to get back into the game.
However, stunned spectators saw Jackson win a header and race away from defenders, then, despite being equal top-scorer in the Golden Boot race, he unselfishly squared a pass for Dave Dugdale to sidefoot Caversham 4-0 ahead.
Caversham keeper Little showed his class with a couple of fine saves, and as Roslyn pounded balls into his goalmouth, the big keeper, fresh back from Olympic duty, defied some heavy traffic to repeatedly punch the ball clear.
He had no answer, however, when Boylan slipped a cool pass to Ben Keat, who laced Roslyn further back into contention with a strong angled shot to cut Caversham's lead to 4-2.
Watches were scrutinised as referee Martin played injury time and Roslyn continued its barrage, but eventually the final whistle sounded, and to their credit after such a bruising match, both sides shook hands before heading for a well-earned shower.
At the Caledonian ground, Dunedin Technical overran a weakened Mosgiel side 7-0 to move within four points of Roslyn in the race for second place in the SPL, and a chance to compete in the South Island championship.
The situation should be settled when Technical meets Roslyn on Wednesday at Carisbrook, with a 7.45pm kick-off under lights.
After that, Technical has its last game against Queenstown, which beat Green Island 2-1 in Queenstown on Saturday.
Caversham 4
Roslyn-Wakari 2
