By Tim McGlone

Heidelberg United notched its third win in a row with an entertaining 3-2 victory over Pascoe Vale at Olympic Village on Sunday night.

A Daniel Heffernan brace, plus a late goal from Jack Petrie, was enough to send the home side into fifth position on the NPL ladder.

All of the goals came in the second half of the contest, with Heffernan’s 49th-minute opener paving the way for some brilliant counter-attacking football from both sides.

After Kaine Sheppard was tripped in the penalty area, Heffernan converted to give Heidelberg a deserved lead.

The rangy striker had been making life difficult for the Pascoe Vale defence, and always looked a threat.

Twice in the first half Pascoe Vale goalkeeper Stefaan Sardelic was needed to prevent Heffernan from scoring.

In the 38th minute the striker’s flicked header put Sheppard into space, who put the ball into the back of the net, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

Not long after the hour mark Alistair Dunlop gave the ball away in the middle of the park to Heffernan, who scurried away from the Pascoe Vale defence before finishing neatly past Sardelic.

The result looked beyond doubt as Heidelberg continued to look for another goal, only to be caught out when youngster Matthew Lazirides finished coolly in the 80th minute to set up a nervy finish.

Pascoe threw players forward desperately in search of an equaliser, which left space at the back for Jack Petrie to score in the final minute of normal time to seal the win.

Michael Ferrante scored a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time, however it was merely a consolation goal for the visitors, who will feel disappointed after beating the Bergers only two weeks ago.

Heidelberg coach George Katsakis was happy his side were able to notch a third successive victory.

“It’s not just that we’re stringing the wins together now, but I think we’re playing really good football,” Katsakis said.

“Winning these games gives us a lot of confidence and with the personnel that we’ve got, I think we will continue to head in the right direction.”

Pascoe Vale boss Vitale Ferrante was left to rue his team’s defensive mistakes.

“I thought we were a chance the whole game. Every time we broke away we were causing problems,” Ferrante said.

“It was clumsy tackling, poor defensive errors that left us chasing the game and when you chase the game, it becomes very hard.”

Heidelberg is at home to Green Gully next week, while Pascoe Vale travels to Werribee as it aims for a second league win of the season.

MATCH DETAILS

Heidelberg United 3 (Heffernan 49’, 70, Petrie 90’) defeated Pascoe Vale 2 (Lazarides 80’, Ferrante 90’+4) at Olympic Village [HT: 0-0]

Heidelberg United: 20. Ryan NORVAL, 4. Jordan WILKES, 3. Les DOUMBALIS 13. Luke BYLES, 6. Paul MILLER, 17. Steven PACE, 9. Kosta KANAKARIS, 10. Jack PETRIE, 5. Daniel VASALEVSKI, (23. Andrew CARTANOS 73’) 22. Kaine SHEPPARD (7. Stef BARICEVIC 91’), Dan HEFFERNAN, (Hamis STAMBOLIDIS 90’).

Unused subs: 1. Griffin McMASTER,

Yellow Cards: Petrie (27’)

Pascoe Vale: 1. Stefaan SARDELIC, 2. Adrian TALARICO, 3. Nathen MEGIC, 4. Tomislav MILARDOVIC, 7. Luca SANTILLI, 10. Davey VAN’T SCHIP, 13. Matthew LAZARIDES, 14. Alvaro CARRILLO (11. Jonathan VOULGARIS 59’), 15. Mark PISTININZI (12. Eli LUTTMER 70’), 20. Alistair DUNLOP 21. Michael FERRANTE.

Unused subs: 6. Roberto DI VITO 25. Yaren SOZER, 22. Carl RECCHIA

Yellow Cards: Nil