By Mark Gojszyk (@hahahamark)

Werribee City has snapped a six-game losing streak and breathed some life back into its season, scoring two goals from set pieces to defeat Pascoe Vale 2-0 at Galvin Reserve on Tuesday.

In a battering and bruising mid-week contest that saw five yellows and one red card distributed, the desperate visitors outmuscled the hosts to claim a vital three points in its bid to avoid relegation.

After a goalless first half, the match sprang to life in bizarre circumstances in the second, when an indirect free kick in the box was converted by Ersin Kaya.

Kaya then turned provider when his free kick was headed home by Steve Cudrig, before the former was again in the thick of the action deep into extra time, receiving a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident.

In a cagey opening 10 minutes, most of the action did not involve the ball, as a string of heavy challenges by the visitors raised the ire of Pascoe Vale players and staff.

The hosts almost responded in the best possible fashion in the 11th minute, when a poor goalkeeper punch landed at the feet of Michael Ferrante just outside the 18-yard box, but his lob sailed agonisingly high of the crossbar.

Pascoe Vale was looking threatening, with a number of forays into the box barely dealt with by Werribee defenders.

Werribee registered their first shot in the 17th minute, when Simon Tolli connected with a speculative cross in the box, but his header was easily saved by Yaren Sozer.

The momentum then seemed to swing in Werribee’s favour, but both teams struggled to retain possession, and the flow of the game was often disrupted by fouls and free kicks.

The rest of the half saw tempers flare on both sides, while the respective goalkeepers were rarely called upon.

Pascoe Vale twice came inches away from scoring the opener early in the second half, with a corner kick rattling the crossbar, and a Werribee defensive clearance hitting the side netting.

Tempers once again flared as the yellow cards began racking up for the visitors due to incessant fouling.

On the pitch, Evan Batsis had Werribee’s best chance to break the deadlock after being played through on goal, but his close range effort from a tight angle was held by Sozer.

The Bees would eventually score a unique first goal, as an indirect free kick was paid for a dangerous high boot in the box following a corner kick.

Kaya stepped up and drilled the ball home from 12 yards.

While the home side attempted to force its way back into the game, nothing was coming to fruition.

Adrian Talarico came the closest to equalising, but his header from a corner flashed just wide of the goal.

Instead it would be Werribee to score again, with Kaya’s delivery from a set piece finding the head of Cudrig and nestling in the back of the net.

With time running out, a Pascoe Vale comeback was looking increasingly unlikely as the visitors’ defence stood tall.

A speculative long-range free kick from Michael Ferrante flew safely high of the goals, summing up a futile night for the hosts.

The tension building up throughout the match came to a head in extra time, when the night’s hero Kaya received his marching orders for an off-the-ball incident.

Pascoe Vale coach Vitale Ferrante was frank in his assessment of the match.

“For me, honestly, that’s the worst game I’ve been part of,” Ferrante said.

“It was a poor game from both teams – we didn’t control the ball like we’re capable of doing and we didn’t deal with [Werribee’s] physicality at all.”

Werribee coach Nino Ragusa was pleased with the drought breaking win, commending his players’ performance after a 48 hour turnaround following Sunday’s loss to Ballarat.

“Very solid performance from us tonight, excellent,” Ragusa said.

“Other than the sending off at the end, our discipline was excellent, our character was excellent, and we deserved to win.”

A sore and sorry Pascoe Vale now has to back up for a Friday night game against table-topping South Melbourne, while Werribee City take on Dandenong Thunder on Sunday.

MATCH DETAILS

Pascoe Vale Soccer Club 0 defeated by Werribee City 2 (Kaya 67’, Cudrig 83’) at Hosken Reserve

Pascoe Vale Starting XI: 1 Yaren SOZER, 2 Adrian TALARICO, 3 Nathen MEGIC, 4 Tomislav MILARDOVIC, 8 Joseph YOUSSEF, 11 Jonathan VOULGARIS (Jake NAKIC 68’), 13 Mathew LAZARIDES, 14 Alvaro CARRILO (19 Lindsay HENDERSON), 16 Marco SANTILLI, 21 Michael FERRANTE, 22 Carl RECCHIA

Unused Subs: 5 James STEFANOU, 17 Evan KARAVITIS, 25 Stefan SARDELIC

Yellow Cards: Marco SANTILLI 90+5’

Red Cards: None

Werribee City Starting XI: 1 Tommy DUNN, 4 Ryan FILIPOVIC, 43 Steve CUDRIG, 2 Ersin KAYA, 13 Milan SAVIC, 6 Anthony RAGUSA (7 Simon ZAPPIA 81’), 9 Devon BONNE (Rob NAUMOSKI 69’), 14 Bobby VIDANOSKI, 8 Simon TOLLI, 5 Evan BATSIS, 11 Domenico MARAFLOTI (17 Matthew CUNDARI 51’)

Unused Subs: 15 Julian CASSANO, 26 Liam BRIAN

Yellow Cards: Milan SAVIC 26’, Domenico MARAFLOTI 28’, Simon TOLLI 51’, Evan BATSIS 75’

Red Cards: Ersin KAYA 90+5’