Heidelberg United continued its unbeaten NPL streak with a dramatic come from behind win against Dandenong Thunder on Saturday at George Andrews Reserve.
For the second time this season, the Warriors have comeback from trailing in a tricky away clash to take all three points, with the other match being against Green Gully.
With an unchanged starting line up from last week, Heidelberg was hard pressed in defence in early proceedings, scrambling desperately to stave off waves of Dandenong attacking forays, including a great block from the towering defender in Mallan Roberts.
The home side was heaping on the pressure, with a free header which hit the woodwork making for a fortunate escape for the away side.
A quick thrown in for Dandenong caught the ‘Berger defence off guard & led Hamish Watson through on goal. The striker’s snap shot on the run struck the post on its way to the back of the net to give the home side a deserved lead.
With the respite of the main break, the ‘Bergers were keen to regroup and bring a more positive frame of mind to their play. To underscore that point, within minutes of the restart, a lovely delivery from a Sean Ellis free kick into the box was met by defender Ajdin Fetahagic, who crashed the ball home to level up the game.
With the game beginning to open up, Dominic Falla did well to recover the ball, before feeding it off to Josh Wilkins, who drove forward before firing a searing shot mere inches over the bar.
The winner came via talismanic substitute Luka Ninkovic, who magnificently controlled a long cross field pass by Wilkins, bringing the ball down with his chest before firing a well struck volley to put the Warriors ahead.
The ‘Bergers had an opportunity to kill the game off late on, with Strickland winning an aerial contest and feeding the ball to Eoin Ashton, who got in behind the defence, and firing an unstoppable strike, only to be denied by the woodwork.
The tensions were running high late on, with Jackson Lino shown a red card in stoppage time, leaving the team to defend stoutly, with its resilience coming through once again. The only dampener on proceedings was a first half knee injury to Lewis Hall, who faces a nervous wait to ascertain the extent of damage.
The win cements the ‘Bergers in third spot on goal difference behind Avondale, and just one point behind table leader South Melbourne.
HUFC TV caught up with an ebullient George Katsakis in the post-match interview, mentioning the partnership between Roberts and Fetahagic.
“Those two centre halves are adjusting really well week after week, they are not only good in winning the aerial battles, but they are actually good in playing out, starting out our next possession play from the back. I am ecstatic – this is probably one of the best wins at this venue for a long time, so l am just overwhelmed.”
Heidelberg United continued its unbeaten NPL streak with a dramatic come from behind win against Dandenong Thunder on Saturday at George Andrews Reserve.
For the second time this season, the Warriors have comeback from trailing in a tricky away clash to take all three points, with the other match being against Green Gully.
With an unchanged starting line up from last week, Heidelberg was hard pressed in defence in early proceedings, scrambling desperately to stave off waves of Dandenong attacking forays, including a great block from the towering defender in Mallan Roberts.
The home side was heaping on the pressure, with a free header which hit the woodwork making for a fortunate escape for the away side.
A quick thrown in for Dandenong caught the ‘Berger defence off guard & led Hamish Watson through on goal. The striker’s snap shot on the run struck the post on its way to the back of the net to give the home side a deserved lead.
With the respite of the main break, the ‘Bergers were keen to regroup and bring a more positive frame of mind to their play. To underscore that point, within minutes of the restart, a lovely delivery from a Sean Ellis free kick into the box was met by defender Ajdin Fetahagic, who crashed the ball home to level up the game.
With the game beginning to open up, Dominic Falla did well to recover the ball, before feeding it off to Josh Wilkins, who drove forward before firing a searing shot mere inches over the bar.
The winner came via talismanic substitute Luka Ninkovic, who magnificently controlled a long cross field pass by Wilkins, bringing the ball down with his chest before firing a well struck volley to put the Warriors ahead.
The ‘Bergers had an opportunity to kill the game off late on, with Strickland winning an aerial contest and feeding the ball to Eoin Ashton, who got in behind the defence, and firing an unstoppable strike, only to be denied by the woodwork.
The tensions were running high late on, with Jackson Lino shown a red card in stoppage time, leaving the team to defend stoutly, with its resilience coming through once again. The only dampener on proceedings was a first half knee injury to Lewis Hall, who faces a nervous wait to ascertain the extent of damage.
The win cements the ‘Bergers in third spot on goal difference behind Avondale, and just one point behind table leader South Melbourne.
HUFC TV caught up with an ebullient George Katsakis in the post-match interview, mentioning the partnership between Roberts and Fetahagic.
“Those two centre halves are adjusting really well week after week, they are not only good in winning the aerial battles, but they are actually good in playing out, starting out our next possession play from the back. I am ecstatic – this is probably one of the best wins at this venue for a long time, so l am just overwhelmed.”
Heidelberg United will look to continue the consistent superb run of form when it entertains St Albans next Sunday (May 9) at 5pm at Olympic Village.
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Match Details:
Dandenong Thunder FC 1 (H. Watson 35’) – Heidelberg United FC 2 (A. Fetahagic 48’, L. Ninkovic 75’)
GK – 1 – Chris Theodoridis
2 – Josh Wilkins
4 – Mallan Roberts
5 – Ajdin Fetahagic
6 – Lewis Hall (11 – Thomas Strickland 38’)
8 – Dusan Bosnjak (20 – Luka Ninkovic 63’)
9 – Adrian Zahra (C)
10 – Takeru Okada
19 – Sean Ellis (21 – Eoin Ashton 85’)
22 – Dominic Falla
33 – Jackson Lino
Subs not used:
GK – 63 – Nick Eres
18 – Anthony Theodoropoulos