By Billy Higgins (@BillyTheKid217)

Murray United and Springvale White Eagles have played out a 1-1 draw at La Trobe University on Saturday.

Murray looked as though it was headed for their first victory in the NPL before a late Hernan De Rito free kick earned Springvale a share of the spoils.

The first half was a forgettable affair with neither team offering much in the way of attacking inspiration. It seemed as though a defensive error from one of the sides was the most likely route to goal.

Murray’s Josh Fluss was the first goalkeeper called into serious action in the 36^th minute, reacting sharply to a De Rito shot low to his right. The midfielder was invited to shoot after collecting defender Ben Chaffey’s loose pass.

A minute later, Zac Walker anticipated a backpass from the Eagles but couldn’t quite control his touch around goalkeeper Bojan Tomic.

The highlight of the opening period came in the 42^nd minute.

Hussein Ntakirutimana made a run down the right for Murray; his cross eventually found Kade Rixon whose quick snap shot forced an excellent diving save from Tomic.

Both teams came out from the interval playing with much more freedom resulting in a faster, more attractive game of football.

Rixon was pushed into a more advanced role by Mark Richards, just behind strikers Walker and Adam Waters. This move almost paid dividends within a minute, as Rixon used his trickery to drive into space and fire a shot just wide of Tomic’s right post.

De Rito had Springvale’s best chance to date, but his curling effort was saved comfortably by Fluss.

Rixon was booked for a reckless tackle on De Rito in the centre of the pitch; the two who couldn’t find themselves away from the action.

But it was Rixon who drew first blood on the hour mark.

Springvale gave away possession in their defensive half and James Coutts’ quick pass found Rixon with space to calmly guide the ball past the on rushing Tomic to give Murray the lead.

Springvale switched to an attacking 4-4-2 in pursuit of the hosts, but still were unable to force any meaningful pressure on Fluss and the United defence. De Rito looked most likely, firing a warning shot in the 74^th minute at Fluss from a set piece.

But the warning was not heeded, and Murray paid the price four minutes later. Substitute Matthew Hasler fouled de Rito on the left edge of the area. The Springvale man stepped up himself to dip a free kick over the wall and inside Fluss’ far post to equalise.

The game threatened to boil over in the closing stages. Rixon was fortunate not to see red for a second crude tackle on de Rito in a near identical position. Josh O’Brien and Zarko Milojevic were both booked for a coming together that saw several players from both sides involved in the aftermath.

There was a late penalty shout in stoppage time as Waters was challenged by Milojevic; fairly according to the referee.

The match which began painfully slowly ended at fever pitch, but ultimately the evenly matched sides shared a point each to get each of their seasons up and running.

MATCH DETAILS

Murray United 1 (Rixon 60’) drew with Springvale White Eagles 1 (De Rito 78’) at La Trobe University, Wodonga [HT: 0-0]

Murray United: 1. Josh FLUSS, 33. Alexander WEST, 34. Daniel MILLYNN, 23. Ben CHAFFEY, 30. Angus KELLY, 4. Hussein NTAKIRUTIMANA, 16. Sean PYE, 10. Kade RIXON, 8. James COUTTS, 14. Adam WATERS, 7. Zac WALKER

Subs: 12. Micahel JESSUP, 9. Mathew HASLER, 13. Josh O’BRIEN, 19. Tom MORRISON, 21. Ben RUSSELL

Springvale White Eagles: 12. Bojan TOMIC, 23. Marcus HOLMES, 6. Slavisa SARIC, 2. Jordan BALLERINT, 3. Vedran TOMIC, 10. Stojan MILOJEVIC, 8. Hernan DE RITO, 17. Sebastian LECAROS, 9. Abel FESSEHA, 21. Dejan ERAKOVIC, 13. Hamish MILLAR

Substitutes: 30. Jeremy SANDOVAL, 15. Milan JOVANOVIC, 16. Nemanja SALAMANDIC, 33. Zarko MILOJEVIC