Shepparton United's Marcus Thomas and Ermal Marku celebrate.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Bendigo Amateur Soccer League Cup finals day at Howley Oval had three new champions crowned in the competition’s mid-season tournament.
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The 3pm showdown between Shepparton United and Eaglehawk emerged as the day's headline act, serving up a nail-biting spectacle.
Eaglehawk’s Ewan Dawson netted the first goal of the men’s final within the first 10 minutes, but a stunning one-two punch from Riki Koyanagi and Hassan Alhilfi, the latter scored straight from the restart, fired United to a 2-1 lead in a flash.
A Marcus Thomas header from a Koyanagi cross extended that to 3-1 shortly before half-time, but there was still a twist in the tale of this final, with high drama ensuing in the second half.
Keegan Smyth’s 70th-minute free kick soared into the net to draw the Hawks back within a single strike, a strike which seemingly came in the 85th minute with a headed Eaglehawk header.
Instead, the apparent equaliser was deemed a foul due to goalkeeper contact, the final whistle sounding not long afterwards to confirm United as a 3-2 winner and League Cup champion.
A post-whistle fracas between the opposing groups added another dramatic twist to proceedings, but once the dust settled it was the royal blue enjoying the second of two trophies heading to McEwen Reserve.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” United coach Roven Shaholli said.
“Their team’s very organised, so I think the boys knew that it wasn't going to be easy.
“Obviously a massive crowd and stuff gets both teams going, it was a tough grind at the end, but the boys are starting to produce some consistency.
“Marcus and Riki were great. The team was good, but they had a bit of flair about them.”
United’s women, competing in their second consecutive final against Spring Gully, made amends for last year’s penalty shootout defeat to make it a blue deluge at Tatura.
Ensuring no repeat of the 2024 decider, an early penalty save from Amelia Rando set the tone, with Olivia Loverso slamming home a hat-trick and a strike from sister Sarah setting up a barnstorming 4-0 lead at half-time.
It was more than enough to clinch the title, with Janna Lawson bestowed the best-on-ground medal for her electric performance.
“Pretty impressive effort to win 4-0 against the team that's only conceded five goals in the regular season so far,” United coach Sheridan Fairless said.
“Every single one of our girls on the team sheet contributed across the course of the game which was pretty special.
“(Janna) is just an amazing competitor; she's got an unreal work rate and she's always super composed on the ball.
“Olivia (Loverso) nailed a hat-trick which is a pretty special feat any day, Amy pulled off a really crucial penalty save early in the game which could have probably changed momentum a bit.”
In the reserves final, it took an entire 120 minutes and then some to decide the title-winner.
With Shepparton and Strathdale locked up at 0-0 and unable to be split after extra-time, the goalkeepers and spot-kickers stepped up to their mark for penalties.
It was Reds shot-stopper Maninderjit Singh who kept his cool, his two saves setting up the winning strike from Ali Naveed.
Meanwhile, Shepparton’s senior men battled Epsom in their rescheduled clash, picking up a crucial three points.
Alex Rojas pushed Shepparton ahead before Hussain Algazali and Theo Fernandes guided the Reds to a 3-0 win against the Scorpions at Vibert Reserve.
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