Image courtesy: Peter Psarros
By Liam Coventry-Poole
A Trent Rixon hat-trick has guided Northcote City to an important 5-1 win over local rivals, Heidelberg United in Round 20 of the Alanic Victorian Premier League.
It was a repeat of the score line witnessed back in Round 9, when these two clubs clashed earlier the season. Heidelberg went down to nine men within 25 minutes, with Luke Byles and Saso Alexovski both sent off, as was their coach, George Katsakis.
Heidelberg dominated the early stages of the match, creating two decent chances for Josip Kosic and Yanni Galanos to open the scoring within the first nine minutes.
Disaster struck for Heidelberg in the ninth minute, when Luke Byles was shown a straight red card for stomping on an opponent’s foot, while waiting for a corner to be played into the box.
Tempers boiled over in the 12th minute when Heidelberg’s coach, George Katsakis, was also sent off following an altercation with the referee on the sideline. Katsakis left the coaches box to contest a yellow card shown to Craig Elvin for a foul in front of United’s bench. The referee directed Katsakis to leave the pitch immediately after the dispute, creating chaotic scenes behind the bench.
Northcote’s Mark Mc Gough came close to opening the scoring in the 20th minute after he got a boot onto a Jonathan Voulgaris cross from the right flank. McGough failed to put the shot on target, shooting the ball a metre over the bar.
Things got worse for Heidelberg when the referee awarded Northcote a penalty, after Craig Elvin was judged to have fouled Nicholas Curtis, as he made a run into the box. Trent Rixon stepped up for the penalty; having no trouble in putting away Northcote’s second of the half.
As the players made their way back to their positions, astoundingly, Heidelberg went down to nine men. Saso Alexovski was the man sent off, judged to have thrown the ball at the referee after the goal.
Matters got worse for Heidelberg three minutes later when Trent Rixon scored his second of the afternoon. It was a classy finish by Rixon, finding the top corner of the net from outside the box with a brilliant shot, which curved straight past Steve Tilovski, giving him no chance.
When Heidelberg looked to be dead and buried, remarkably, they pulled a goal back in the 21st minute. A Josip Kosic free kick from the left flank rolled into the box and went past everyone, finding the far bottom corner of the net with little resistance from Northcote’s defenders.
Northcote still had to hold their breath just before half time when a Steve Martin shot from 30 yards from goal beat Chris Theodoridis-Petropoulos, only to go inches wide of an equaliser.
Northcote came out in the second half, determined to put the match to bed, as they began to dominate possession and gave Heidelberg’s nine remaining men little space to manoeuvre anything dangerous.
Nicholas Curtis called Steve Tilovski into action in the 53rd minute with a powerful close range half volley. Tilovski did well to parry the ball away for corner, and keep United in the match.
Trent Rixon completed his hat-trick in the 56th minute and took his season tally to 15 goals. Rixon proved too strong for the Heidelberg defenders, going around three before finishing past Tilovski.
Trent Rixon earned a well-deserved rest in the 61st minute, welcomed by a tremendous ovation by the home supporters.
Substitute Stuart Nicholson was straight into the action as he made a great run into the box after only two minutes on the park. He went one-out with Tilovski, but his close range shot was disappointing, only managing to find the chest of Tilovski.
Heidelberg created a rare chance for Kosic to score his second for the match in the 70th minute. He unleashed a vicious shot from distance, denied by the finger-tips of Theodoridis-Petropoulos.
Hayden D’Agostino almost put the match out of Heidelberg’s reach in the 75th minute, flying the ball only inches of the bar.
Northcote put the nail into the coffin when substitute Stuart Nicholson scored their fourth from a tight angle. Nicholson made another terrific run into the box before attempting to find the far corner of the net. Steve Martin slid in, in an attempt to block the ball, but embarrassingly put the ball into his own net.
Northcote put the icing on the cake when club veteran, George Papadopoulos, scored in a rare appearance for Northcote. An unmarked Papadopoulos put a Mark McGough corner straight into the top of the net with a brilliant half volley. Emotional scenes followed as Papadopoulos ran to the home fans to celebrate the goal.
The win means Northcote City has surpassed both Dandenong Thunder and Heidelberg to clinch fifth position. Northcote are now in a good position to secure a place in this year’s final series, with a possible two extra matches remaining, and a far superior goal difference in comparison to their rivals. This Wednesday night Northcote face the Bentleigh Greens at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex for their Round 16 catch-up match.
The loss leaves Heidelberg in sixth position, just outside the top five on goal difference. Heidelberg faces Green Gully next Sunday evening, at Olympic Village.
Northcote City: Adriano CHIAPPETTA, Antoni JANKOVSKI, Nicholas CURTIS (Eddie SOARES 73’), Mark MCGOUGH, Trent RIXON (Stuart NICHOLSON 61’), Harry KINIGOPOULOS, Hayden D'AGOSTINO (George PAPADOPOULOS 78’), Paul SAVIO, James KALIFATIDIS, Jonathan VOULGARIS, Chris THEODORIDIS-PETROPOULOS
Unsued subs: Nikolaos GOUNTARAS, Bradley NORTON
Yellow cards: Chris THEODORIDIS-PETROPOULOS 17’, Trent RIXON 41’
Goals: Trent RIXON 26’, 28’, 55’, Stuart NICHOLSON 80’, George PAPADOPOULOS 83’
Heidelberg United: Steve TILOVSKI, Paul MILLER, Yanni GALANOS, George SLEFENDORFAS (Yared HAILEMELKOT 58’), Antonio LA VERDE (Osagie EDERARO 75’), Craig ELVIN, Steve MARTIN, Saso ALEXOVSKI, Josip KOSIC, Nicholas MARINOS (Les DOUMBALIS 80’), Luke BYLES
Unused subs: Christian MORALES, Hrvoje MATKOVIC
Yellow cards: Craig ELVIN 12’, Josip KOSIC 25’
Red cards: Luke BYLES 9’, Saso ALEXOVSKI 25’
Goals: Josip KOSIC 31’
Last updated: Sunday August 1, 2010 10:33AM
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