By Julian Trantino (@jtrantino16)

Ballarat Red Devils and Heidelberg United couldn’t be split in an exhilarating 5-5 draw at Morshead Park on Saturday afternoon.

Braces to three players – Daniel Heffernan (Heidelberg), Jakob Williams (Heidelberg) and Paul Harvey (Ballarat) – and four lead changes were just some of the highlights of a thriller which will be remembered for decades to come.

It took just three minutes for the first chance to be fashioned when Heidelberg striker Kaine Sheppard rounded ‘keeper Aaron Romein but had his resulting shot cleared off the last line by Daniel O’Donnell.

The action was end to end, and it was Bulleen recruit Harvey who struck first when he flicked his

header into the back of the net off Liam Harding’s corner in the ninth minute.

Heidelberg’s equaliser came 10 minutes later, with Mark McGough’s cross from the left flank picking out an unmarked Williams, who thumped his header past a helpless Romein.

Attacking trio Sheppard, Heffernan and Daniel Vasilevski were running rings around the Red Devils’ defence, and it was the latter who handed Heidelberg the lead in the 36th minute with a low, curling strike from the edge of the area.

Ballarat needed a slice of luck to level the scores at 2-2 in the 39th minute, with Heidelberg ‘keeper Griffin McMaster made to pay for one of several rare errors in a performance he’d rather forget.

Liam Harding’s cross found Simon Murphy at the back post, whose weak header was spilled by McMaster and landed at the feet of O’Donnell, who tapped in from point-blank range.

A strong travelling Heidelberg contingent and vocal home support had been treated to a four-goal first half, but few would have expected the drama that would unfold in the second period.

Liam Harding struck a low free kick in the 53rd minute which travelled under the legs of two players before being deflected in off the boot of Murphy, with Heidelberg ‘keeper McMaster caught off guard as the Red Devils went ahead for the second time.

The goals were coming faster than those in a FIFA game on a Playstation console, and just one minute later the ledger was squared again when Williams let rip with a goal of the season contender.

The midfielder punished a poor Ballarat clearance with a rising half-volley on the edge of the 18-yard box, leaving Romein with no chance of getting a hand to his thunderous strike.

Heidelberg continued to mount the pressure on Ballarat’s back four but was opened up by the home side’s counter attack in the 60th minute.

Harvey, who was playing just his second game for the Red Devils since crossing over from Bulleen, secured his double with a stinging header from a Michael Trigger delivery.

But for the second time, Heidelberg found an equaliser less than a minute after going down.

Another headed attempt – this time from Heffernan – flew across the body of Romein, who got a hand to the ball but couldn’t keep it out as it crept in behind his left post.

Heidelberg introduced in-form striker Kosta Kanakaris in the 63rd minute at the expense of McGough, as it looked to further exploit the space on its left flank – an area which proved to be Ballarat’s weakness and the source of many Heidelberg attacks.

It took a magnificent assist from Williams to hand Heidelberg the lead in the 68th minute, as the star performer split Ballarat’s defence with a lofted diagonal through ball to Heffernan at the back post, who smashed his shot into the back of the net.

The most exciting minute of the match soon ensued, and it all started with McMaster fumbling a cross into the path of Deng Aguek, who powered his shot into the post.

Aguek had another gilt-edged chance just seconds later, but McMaster made amends with a fantastic reflex save to deny the striker from close range.

Heidelberg immediately scrambled to clear its lines but could only find Liam Harding on the edge of the area, who quickly adjusted his footing and buried his shot to level the scores at 5-5 in the 72nd minute.

The final 20 minutes looked set to deliver more goals as Heidelberg did the majority of the attacking, but both defences finally tightened up to ensure the scoreline wouldn’t change.

Heidelberg coach George Katsakis said the quick succession of goals made for some “hectic” moments in the coach’s box.

“It was way too hectic. Everything just happened so quick,” Katsakis said.

“Every time we went ahead we couldn’t retain it, and every time Ballarat went ahead they couldn’t retain it. I guess it added to the spectacle of the game and made it a tremendous one to watch.”

With Oakleigh defeating Green Gully 5-1, Heidelberg is now nine points adrift off second points, with Katsakis conceding his title hopes were all but over.

“You probably don’t leave happy with a draw. We wanted to finish as high as possible this year and this draw sets us back another two points. With Oakleigh winning today, it’s just become a two-horse race now,” he said.

Ballarat coach James Robinson said he was disappointed to concede goals just one minute after going ahead on two occasions, but said the positives outweighed the negatives.

“The reactions are crucial. As soon as you score a goal, you are most vulnerable. We know that and we’ll address that. It’s a common theme. We’re semi-professional footballers and we should be switched on straight away,” Robinson said.

“We’ve took (sic) it to Heidelberg who have been doing really well this year. I said to George (Katsakis) before the game that they’ve (Heidelberg) been playing a good attacking brand of football. We got off to a great start – some great deliveries and the boys put them away. Fantastic positives out there.”

Harvey scored his first goals for Ballarat and Robinson praised the impact he and Aguek have had since joining in the mid-season transfer window.

“We knew that we had to have the right characters and the right players to come into this football club, (and) we don’t just bring anyone in. I knew Paul (Harvey), I knew Deng (Aguek) - they’ve had a great impact,” he said.

“Paul’s scored two today, and you’d take that all day long. Like you say, it’s a character fit as well as a football fit. What we’re driving is a big thing, it’s a culture, and these boys fit that. They will drive us. We’ll keep pushing on and we’ll keep driving up the table. I have no doubt about that.”

Ballarat – now four points behind 12th-placed Port Melbourne – will host Pascoe Vale on Saturday, while Heidelberg is at home to Port Melbourne in Round 18 action.

MATCH DETAILS

Round 17, 2014: Ballarat Red Devils 5 (Harvey 9’ 60’, O’Donnell 39’, Murphy 52’, L.Harding 72’) drew with Heidelberg United 5 (Williams 20’ 53’, Vasilevski 36’, Heffernan 61’ 68’) at Morshead Park [HT: 2-2]

Ballarat Red Devils: 1. Aaron ROMEIN (GK), 19. Daniel FIRTH (25. Steven THOMSON 52’), 18. Daniel O’DONNELL, 4. David KING, 28. Sean HARDING (12. Miles BAKER 89’), 6. Liam HARDING (16. Charles KING 82’), 11. Nelson SALVATORE, 13. Michael TRIGGER, 31. Simon MURPHY, 10. Paul HARVEY, 7. Deng AGUEK

Unused substitutes: 3. Daniel TINKER, 40. Jordan FRANKEN

Yellow cards: None

Red cards: None

Heidelberg United: 1. Griffin McMASTER (GK), 2. Johnny LAZARIDIS, 13. Luke BYLES, 17. Steven PACE, 19. Jakob WILLIAMS, 10. Jack PETRIE, 11. Mark McGOUGH (9. Kosta KANAKARIS 63’), 3. Les DOUMBALIS, 14. Daniel HEFFERNAN, 22. Kaine SHEPPARD (4. Jordan WILKES 77’), 5. Daniel VASILEVSKI (23. Andrew CARTANOS 77’)

Unused substitutes: 16. Harris STAMBOULIDIS, 32. Coben McDONALD

Yellow cards: None

Red cards: None