By Julian Buckeridge (@MrJulianB)

South Melbourne restored its buffer at the top of the NPL ladder by comfortably defeating Heidelberg United 3-0 at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday evening.

An early Steve Pace own goal was soon followed by goals from Mathew Theodore and Milos Lujic, as South Melbourne was rarely troubled by the visiting side.

With South Melbourne coming into the match on the back of two winless games, it was the hosts that enjoyed a strong start as Leigh Minopoulos tested Heidelberg's defence early.

The early pressure paid off in the third minute as South took the lead through good play down the left.

Nick Epifano drilled a dangerous cross into the box and there was little Heidelberg defender Pace could do but put it into his own net.

And, despite the visitors settling into the match, South Melbourne doubled its advantage less than 10 minutes later as Theodore rifled a left-foot volley home from outside the box.

Heidelberg responded positively and the next period of the match was much more equal between the battling sides.

It was therefore crucial for the hosts to add a third before United came back into the match, and duly did so in the 28th minute when Lujic met a beautiful Bradley Norton cross with a firm header that gave ‘keeper Ryan Norval no chance.

South continued to push forward and almost put the game to bed twice before the break, as Lujic's placed effort in the 44th minute rebounded out off the far post before the forward was denied a simple tap-in by Pace as the halftime whistle sounded.

Heidelberg looked to regroup at the break with the substitutions of Petr Kratky and Daniel Vasilevski, and started the early stages of the second half positively.

The visitors were almost rewarded in the 61st minute when Jason Saldaris was tested by a shot from range, and there were questions as to whether the ball crossed the line before the South ‘keeper gathered.

South Melbourne reacted swiftly to the controversial moment and almost had a fourth when Epifano looked to slot the ball past Norval, but the Heidelberg 'keeper expertly tipped it away for a corner.

There were few chances thereafter, with the final opportunity of the match falling to South Melbourne – only to be denied again in the dying minutes by a brilliant reaction save from Norval.

Still, this was South Melbourne’s day, as it cruised to victory after a shaky month.

South’s captain Michael Eager was clearly pleased with his side’s performance.

“We haven’t played well the last two weeks and haven’t gotten the results that we should’ve. We spoke about the game. It’s big for the club, it’s a local derby and it’s important we got the win and we go into Wednesday [the Dockerty Cup fixture] with plenty of confidence and in a good frame of mind,” Eagar said.

Heidelberg United coach George Katsakis was bitterly disappointed by his side’s start.

“It was probably the worst half of football we’ve played all year. Defensively, we looked disorientated; middle of the park, we had massive holes – we just couldn’t gain any momentum,” Katsakis said.

“I suppose it has been 10 weeks since a defeat, so you need to give the boys the benefit of the doubt. But certainly, South Melbourne displayed a quality of football in the first half that probably justifies why they are where they are.”

MATCH DETAILS

South Melbourne 3 (Pace OG 3', Theodore 10', Lujic 29') defeated Heidelberg United 0 at Lakeside Stadium [HT: 3-0]

South Melbourne: 1. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tim MALA, 4. Michael EAGAR, 7. Nick EPIFANO, 8. Mathew THEODORE, 9. Milos LUJIC (17. Jamie REED 79’), 10. Tyson HOLMES (6. Dimitri TSIARAS 79’), 11. Bradley NORTON, 12. Iqbal JAWADI, 14. James MUSA (77. Stephen HATZIKOSTAS 79’), 27. Leigh MINOPOULOS

Unused Subs: 3. Andrew MULLETT, 21. Chris MAYNARD (GK)

Yellow Cards: 14. James MUSA (45'), 9. Milos LUJIC (57’)

Red Cards: Nil

Heidelberg United: 20. Ryan NORVAL (GK), 7. Jakob WILLIAMS (5. Dan VASILEVSKI 45’), 4, Jordan WILKES, 17. Steve PACE, 3. Les DOUMBALIS, 10. Jack PETRIE, 6. Paul MILLER, 9. Kosta KANAKARIS (2. Petr KRATKY 45’), 23. Andrew CARTANOS, 14. Daniel HEFFERNAN, 11. Mark McGOUGH

Unused Subs: 1. Griffin MCMASTER (GK), 19. John LAZARIDIS, 13. Luke BYLES

Yellow Cards: 7. Jakob WILLIAMS (11'), 11. Mark McGOUGH (54’), 14. Daniel HEFFERNAN (61’)

Red Cards: Nil

Pictured: South Melbourne striker Milos Lujic holds off a Heidelberg opponent (Image credit: Cindy Nitsos)