By Jordan Lim (@JordanLim24)

Werribee City has notched up what could prove to be its most important win of the season, defeating fellow struggler Ballarat Red Devils 2-1 in a classic six-pointer at Morshead Park on Saturday.

The game itself was a scrappy affair, bereft of any real inspiration bar a quick fire double from Simon Tolli in the first half, which swung the contest Werribee’s way.

A Danny O’Donnell header in the opening moments of the second half set up a grandstand finish for the potential relegation decider, but it never transpired as the Bees hung on for a crucial three points towards their survival fund.

Heavy wind marred the early stages of the contest, with Werribee – which was playing against it - finding it incredibly tough work playing out from its half.

Ballarat on the other hand started brightly enough, with its best work coming on the left flank, with the combo of Nelson Salvatore and Daniel Firth seeing plenty of the ball.

The pair combined in the 12th minute with the latter whipping in a tailing cross to Paul Harvey at the far stick, but the in-form striker failed to test the ‘keeper.

Full-back Firth again managed to pick out a teammate; this time Simon Murphy was on hand to hit a carbon copy of Harvey’s attempt.

After knocking on the door for the most part of a half hour, the Red Devils finally managed to test the ‘keeper through Michael Trigger, whose glancing header forced a stunning save out of Tommy Dunn.

That proved to be as close as they’d get in the first half though as a Simon Tolli double salvo sent the home side into shock just before the break.

The Bees broke on the counter in the 37th minute through Simon Zappia, whose square delivery was clinically side-footed by Tolli under Aaron Romein in goals.

That man Tolli struck again seconds from the restart, with the forward holding off the Ballarat defence before poking home across the face of goals.

Words then flew between Ballarat teammates as they struggled to comprehend how they’d fallen behind in a half that it had dominated.

The early moments of the second half were much the same, save for a clinical touch that the Red Devils were missing.

Defender O’Donnell climbed highest from a set piece to head over the rushing Dunn to set up an exciting conclusion to the game.

When Salvatore lit up the Morshead crowd with an electric run on the flank - weaving through three Werribee players – there was an air of inevitability about the Ballarat equaliser.

The Bees continued to sit deep, and Ballarat piled on the pressure, this time through Harvey, who drifted to the penalty spot before heading narrowly over the crossbar.

Having weathered the storm, the away side had a pair of glorious chances to seal the contest with Tolli at the centre of it all.

He first rounded the ‘keeper before losing out to Steven Thomson in the Ballarat penalty area, before turning provider 10 minutes from time with a low cross to the boot of Zappia, who couldn’t hit the target.

Despite a few more late scares, Werribee held on to not only secure the three points, but also consign Ballarat to a potentially costly defeat.

Victorious manager Nino Ragusa was delighted with the win.

“Of course it was, [a big result] is an understatement,” Ragusa said.

“It was a big game for both teams. We knew it was going to be a tense affair, they usually are these types of games. But I thought we kept our heads pretty much OK for the game.”

Counterpart James Robinson was understandably disappointed at the lacklustre showing his side put out, given they had so much of the ball.

“Disappointing, we can’t come to a game and not get going,” Robinson said.

“[We had] the majority of possession, you look at the stats, they mean nothing. [Werribee’s] come here and had two goals gifted. We created chances and didn’t take them.”

MATCH DETAILS

Ballarat Red Devils 1 (O’Donnell 46’) defeated by Werribee City 2 (Tolli 37’ 38’) [HT 0:2] at Morshead Park

Ballarat Red Devils: 1. Aaron ROMEIN (GK), 16. Charles KING, 25. Steven THOMSON, 18. Daniel O’DONNELL (2. Tristan ROMEIN 57’), 19. Daniel FIRTH (6. Liam HARDING 34’), 28. Sean HARDING, 17. Shaun ROMEIN, 11. Nelson SALVATORE, 13. Michael TRIGGER (22. Patrick KARRAS 63’), 10. Paul HARVEY, 31. Simon MURPHY

Unused Substitutes: 40. Jordan FRANKEN, 7. Deng AGUEK

Yellow Card(s): S. Romein 85’

Red Card(s): Nil

Werribee City: 1. Tommy DUNN (GK), 2. Ersin KAYA, 22. Ryan FILIPOVIC, 6. Anthony RAGUSA (19. Robbie NAUMOVSKI 76’), 7. Simon ZAPPIA (14. Bobby VIDANOSKI 86’), 8. Simon TOLLI, 9. Devon BONNE, 10. Damir MARUSIC, 11. Domenico MARAFIOTI (17. Matthew CUNDARI 66’), 13. Milan SAVIC, 43. Steven CUDRIG

Unused Substitutes: 5. Evan BATSIS, 12. Julian CRINGASU

Yellow Card(s): Nil

Red Card(s): Nil