By Tomasz Ng (@tomaszng07)

Springvale White Eagles and Sunshine George Cross played out a 0-0 draw at White Eagles Stadium, in which both sides left disappointed not to get more out of the game.

Abel Fesseha came the closest to scoring for the hosts in the match, while Sami Nour struck the woodwork for Sunshine in what was a game of missed opportunities.

After a rather cagey opening 15 minutes, the White Eagles began to take control of the game, with Keletso Mthembu and Hamish Millar causing much of the trouble.

It was Millar’s crossing that proved the most effective, and he set up Dejan Erakovic in the 25th minute, but the attacking midfielder fluffed his lines and shot over the bar.

The next best chance for the hosts came in the 34th minute, with Mthembu setting up Fesseha with a neat cut-back inside the box.

But the speedy forward was unable to direct the shot across his body and on target, skewing it wide.

Millar and Mthembu then combined again to set up Erakovic minutes later, but he somehow contrived to miss his header from point-blank range.

It wasn’t proving to be the hosts’ day, and it was basically summed up when Fesseha missed a one-on-one with Nabi Tuna after leaving his defender for dead with his pace.

The second half proved more fruitful for Sunshine, with Nour missing a similar chance to Fesseha’s soon after the restart.

Both sides were finding avenues in which to attack and Erakovic was again the villain on the hour mark when he miscued a finish on the edge of the box, just as the chance had opened up.

Springvale was looking the more likely to break the deadlock, yet Tuna was having a solid game between the sticks and pulled off a great top-hand save to deny Fesseha four minutes later.

The game’s best chance then fell to Nour in the 69th minute.

After Anthony Cassar delivered a deep cross, Nour slid in to apply the finish which unfortunately hit the crossbar.

It proved to be the last of the clear-cut chances and the match ended in a scoreless draw which neither coach was happy with.

Springvale coach Zlatko Mihajlovic was blunt in his assessment of the match, but did see a small positive out of it.

“We’re not happy with a point,” Mihajlovic said.

“I think we dominated, six chances first half clear [cut], same in the second half.

“They might have had two or three great chances but overall if you take your chances you know the scoreline will probably be 8-2 today.

“For us to be dominant against a team who’s sitting second, that’s the positive.”

Sunshine coach Tony Ciantar was also unhappy with the result, especially with the chances his side managed to fashion after the break.

“I think in the second half we did enough to put them away, they ran out of legs and in our final third we just couldn’t find our second wind and couldn’t put them away,” Ciantar said.

“You got to give credit to the goalkeeper, he made some great saves, we hit the bar as well. Just one of those afternoons in the end.”

Springvale now faces the top-of-the-table Avondale Heights, while Sunshine hosts Bulleen Lions next Saturday.

Match Details

Springvale White Eagles 0  drew Sunshine George Cross 0 at White Eagles Stadium

Springvale White Eagles: 30. Anthony CASSET (GK), 4. Simo JOVANOVIC, 5. Scott MILLAR, 8. Marcus HOLMES, 3. Joey CALDERONE, 6. Slavisa SARIC (18. Ryan DON PAUL 46’), 16. Jamie DE SMIT, 7. Keletso MTHEMBU (19. Vojislav MILOJEVIC 46’), 21. Dejan ERAKOVIC, 13. Hamish MILLAR, 9. Abel FESSEHA (14. Joel BOWEN 85’)    

Unused Subs: 12. Bojan TOMIC (GK), 33. Zarko MILOJEVIC

Yellow Cards: Saric 15’

Red Cards: None

Sunshine George Cross: 21. Nabi TUNA (GK), 17. Jacob ATTARD, 2. Eddie CETKIN, 5. Christopher DIB, 12. Mohamed MOHAMED (3 Nejdet SAHIN 54’), 15. Mohamed AHMED, 10. Adrian LOGOZZO, 8. Delfin MOSIBE, 9. Manuell SADIK, 14. Anthony CASSAR, 13. Sami NOUR (16. Christopher SUTERA 83’)

Unused Subs: 1. Jarrod TAYLOR (GK), 6. Serdar PIR, 7. James XYDIAS

Yellow Cards: Mohamed 53’

Red Cards: None

Image credit: John Punshon/Goal! Weekly