It was a day to remember for the Blues boys as they claimed all three points on the road in Bendigo with a stunning performance, as Marcus Thomas claimed the match-ball with a hat-trick.
During what proved to be a successful 250km round trip down to Shadforth Park on July 19, United head coach Roven Shaholli was not afraid to put his faith in a couple of 15-year-old wing wunderkinds as he started to lay the foundations for the next era at the club.
In the end, the Blues boss was rewarded for his forward thinking approach, with the talented pair having made a significant impact on proceedings as the away side score six times without reply.
In the case of Georgiou, he demonstrated his qualities after being introduced into the fray from the bench in the ninth minute, as he grabbed his team’s third goal of the day en route to victory.
His run-out continued until the 64th minute of proceedings, as fellow 15-year-old prodigy Stivactas replaced him as a substitute in what proved to be a proud moment for the club and it’s juniors program.
Reflecting on the momentous occasion, United coach Shaholli spoke with pride as he expressed his joy at being able to hand the two young guns their maiden appearances in the seniors set-up.
“I said it from the start when I got the job as coach that my role would be to bring up the young lads and make sure the club is in good hands,” he said.
“You’ve got to be aware of injuries and things like that with young kids but they did really well.
“The boys did really well, it was a good moment for the whole club, the crowd and the parents - everyone got goosebumps seeing two young blokes have a go.
“Alexander scored and gave the team a really great boost, he had a few chances building up to the goal, so it was coming!”
Shaholli also delighted in being able to showcase the success of the club’s juniors set-up in a unique way, as two youth products replaced each other on the day.
“The juniors teams have done a lot of comps recently and they’ve cleaned up,” he added.
“We’re really pleased with how things are going at the club, we make sure all the coaches support one another and can take part in classes.
“So credit to all of the coaches too, the juniors have been doing really well this year!”
That result meant that the Blues picked up a 12th win of the 2026 campaign so far, as they maintained a two-point lead over neighbours Shepparton South at the division’s summit.
