Image courtesy: Daniel Flis
By Kristian Silva
Heidelberg United's dominance over South Melbourne continues for another year, after Nick Marinos converted two late penalties to give his side a 2-0 win at Olympic Village.
Given the jubilation South Melbourne fans experienced following last week’s win over Altona, this is a bitter pill to swallow and once more their hopes of making the finals are hanging by a thread.
With the game heading towards a scoreless draw, a dramatic final 15 minutes saw two penalties go Heidelberg’s way. To make matters worse for South, Kyle Joryeff had to be stretchered from the field after injuring his ankle.
Both sides went into the match with under-strength lineups. Heidelberg’s Hrvoje Matkovic failed to recover from the knee strain he picked up against the Bentleigh Greens, and skipper Josip Kosic was injured in the warm-up. For South Melbourne, it would be the second week in a row their leading scorer Fernando De Moraes would be out of action due to a problem with his back.
In a cagey opening, neither team was willing to give their opponents any time on the ball and while most of the tackles were hard but fair, Heidelberg’s Osagie Ederaro went into the referee’s book when he clattered into Rhodri Payne, seemingly injuring the New Zealander in the process.
Payne was substituted soon after and he was replaced by Rama Tavsancioglu, who had been curiously left on the bench by Vaughan Coveny.
With chances few and far between, it was clear that the creative genius of players like Kosic and De Moraes was desperately missing from the contest.
Yanni Galanos’ long range effort was well kept out by Peter Zois, who had to dive low to his right to make the save.
Down the other end, Joryeff had South Melbourne’s first genuine shot in anger after 29 minutes after he got past Luke Byles, but couldn’t hit the target.
Victorian Premier League derby games are noted for their physical nature, and former Heidelberg player Hamid Basma felt the wrath of two rough challenges from Craig Elvin and Ederaro on his return to Olympic Village.
Zois was called into action early in the second half, making a great save to keep out a stunning left-foot volley from George Slefendorfas, and then acrobatically tipping Nick Marinos’ cleverly flicked header over the bar.
With the game opening up, Joseph Youseff found enough space to unleash a thundering strike from well outside the area that Steve Tilovski struggled to deal with.
The blistering pace of Osagie Ederaro has caused many problems for Victorian Premier League sides this season, and he earned a penalty after going down in the box from a Joe Keenan challenge in the 76th minute. Striker Nick Marinos sent Zois the wrong way with a nicely taken spot kick, scoring his first league goal since returning to Heidelberg in the mid-season transfer window.
Just six minutes later, Marinos was lining up for a second penalty when the referee adjudged Carl Recchia to have handballed in the box. Furious South Melbourne players could not believe the decision, with both Recchia and Zois yellow carded for arguing with the match officials. Once again, Marinos was on hand to expertly tuck the ball into the corner and give the home side a 2-0 lead.
With the game all but lost, the nightmare got worse for South Melbourne when Kyle Joryeff went down clutching his ankle after landing awkwardly as he tried an ambitious volley. The injury looked serious, and Joryeff did not return to the field after being stretchered off.
The final whistle sounded soon after, sparking wild celebrations from the Heidelberg fans and players as their amazing unbeaten run continues to nine matches.
Heidelberg coach George Katsakis said he was “ecstatic” with the win.
“I’ve been at the Bergers for four years and I’m yet to lose to South Melbourne. They’re the games you write down in history and can’t forget very easily, so for the club it’s very important because it’s a derby and because it keeps us on track for finals football.”
Nick Marinos was the hero for the Bergers with his two penalties, and after bagging a hat-trick against the National Training Centre in midweek, Marinos earned his first start of the season in place of the injured Josip Kosic.
“He certainly has been edging to play and he knows what it’s like to play in big derbies like this. He’s been around the club for a long time and he was excited to come off a winner,” Katsakis said.
When asked about his team’s chances for the rest of the season, Katsakis says his team is trying to keep their feet on the ground, but believes they have what it takes to mount a serious challenge for the premiership.
“We have the quality, we have the desire, we have the passion. The boys are switched on and they’re ready to go all the way.”
Heidelberg United: Steve TILOVSKI (Gk), Craig ELVIN, Luke BYLES, Steve MARTIN, Osagie EDERARO (Laurence GUGOROSSIS 90 +1’), Paul MILLER, Yanni GALANOS, Saso ALEXOVSKI (Les DOUMBALIS 86’), Antonio LA VERDE, Nick MARINOS, George SLEFENDORFAS (Denis ALILOVIC 66’).
Unused Subs: Christian MORALES (Gk), Yared HAILEMELKOT.
Goals: MARINOS (76’ – pen, 82’ – pen).
Yellow Cards: EDERARO, MILLER, SLEFENDORFAS.
South Melbourne: Peter ZOIS (Gk), Steven O’DOR, Carl RECCHIA, Rhodri PAYNE (Rama TAVSANCIOGLU 13’), James STEFANOU (Jason RICCIUTI 75’), Gianni DE NITTIS, Daniel VASILEVSKI (Sebastian PETROVIC 83’), Joseph YOUSEFF, Kyle JORYEFF, Joseph KEENAN, Hamid BASMA.
Unused Subs: Stefaan SARDELIC (Gk), Marinos GASPARIS.
Yellow Cards: DE NITTIS, VASILEVSKI, RECCHIA, ZOIS.
Last updated: Monday July 12, 2010 12:06PM
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