Shepparton United has come out the right side of a genuine slobberknocker of a football match.
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But not so much for the physical aspect.
It was more for the fact onlookers would’ve been doing proverbial spit takes at a game which featured a pair of missed penalties, a bicycle kick and a stoppage time own goal winner.
United coach Lewis Coyle had the perfect summation for his side’s 3-2 triumph over Strathdale at Beischer Park on Saturday night.
“There was a lot going on in that game,” he said.
The first act of drama ensued before anybody had time to blink.
Strathdale strafed forward from kick off and had United immediately on the back foot when Thomas Raditsas cut down his man for a penalty.
Without regular goalkeeper Goran Petrovski, outfielder Zulfiqar Alizada was called into action as he was handed the gloves for the match.
The defender-turned-shotstopper got down low to save the strike sent straight down the middle and earn a hefty pat on the back from Raditsas for saving his blushes.
Next it was up to Raditsas himself to produce his own moment of heroism.
Ryan Brooks’ corner found Lewis Coyle who filtered the ball back into the box towards Raditsas, and what the bullocking centre half did next had his coach stumbling for descriptives.
“Tommy, I don’t know where he’s got this shot from, overhead kick, unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
“I was like ‘wow’, but hey, if he’s got that in his locker bring it out more often.”
Electric at one end, yes United was putting on a show.
But at the other United’s defensive stations went AWOL once again and another penalty would be given in the first half.
That harrowing wobble had returned, but what the Blues may not have known was Alizada was not done with his grand display in goal.
The makeshift keeper saved his second spot kick in exactly the same fashion as the first with Strathdale’s new taker again opting to drive the ball down the middle.
Big mistake.
Buoyed by the stop, United struck again before the half thanks to Farid Azizi, but it wouldn’t be enough to prevent the hair-dryer treatment in the dressing rooms.
“From a managerial point of view I was not happy with the performance,” Coyle said.
“We didn’t even get out of third gear, that was our problem. I think the players knew we didn’t get out of third gear.
“We got in at half-time, me and Lee Blackburn played good cop bad cop ― I was the good cop this time.
“We’ve gone out and I think most of them stayed in the changing room, literally didn’t even get started.”
United’s bleak second-half showing was underpinned by a six-minute period where its 2-0 lead vanished into thin air.
Strathdale converted off a long throw in the 62nd minute after the ball bounced around the box without a Blue shirt intervening, and shortly after the defence was caught napping from a corner taken quickly.
Coyle then made changes, bringing two more under-18s to the field to join the three other youngsters who had started the match.
The substitutes added influence and the pressure put on Strathdale came to a head in the 90th minute.
A ball into the back post hit Coyle on the leg and, though he slipped, so did the keeper.
The crucial blunder allowed United’s leader to prod at the ball and divert it into traffic where it would eventually trickle over the line to seal the great escape.
“We’ve got out of jail really, that’s the only way I can sum up that performance,” Coyle said.
“It was a lacklustre second half, but to take the positives from it, we’ve been in those situations this year and we’ve drawn or lost from them.
“That was one positive that we played until the 90, got the win and we did it with five under-18s.”
Elsewhere Tatura buried its Truscott Reserve demons from the previous week’s League Cup loss to Shepparton South as it dusted off Eaglehawk 2-0, while Nick Mori doubled up during the Southerners’ 4-0 win over Spring Gully.
Shepparton United’s women also produced the goods as they saw off Strathdale 3-1 thanks to goals from Briarna Fichera, Rezwana Baqiri and Maria Villani.
Tatura and South were less fortunate, falling 2-0 and 8-1 to Eaglehawk and Spring Gully respectively.
Lastly, Shepparton Lushi was unable to find a fourth win of the division two men’s season, losing 7-3 to Swan Hill at Vibert Reserve.