South sneaks past Hume on miserable Saturday night
By: TIM McGLONE (@mcglone77)
An outstanding defensive display has helped South Melbourne defeat Hume City 1-0 at ABD Stadium on a cold and wet Saturday night.
Milos Lujic’s first half header was enough to secure the points in a game that was far from pretty, but considerably entertaining nonetheless.
It might have been a different story had Hume City captain Nick Hegarty found the back of the net in the eighth minute of the game.
Hegarty’s header struck the underside of the crossbar, bouncing back out into the field of play before eventually being cleared by Brad Norton.
South was forced to withstand some heavy pressure from Hume early, before Lujic’s ninth goal of the season gave the reigning champions the lead in the 25th minute.
Nick Epifano delivered a delightful ball to the near post, with Lujic finding the back of the net with a characteristically powerful header.
The lead gave Chris Taylor’s men more control over proceedings, with Epifano and Andy Brennan constantly threatening on each flank.
Just before half-time, a surging run from Brennan resulted in a free-kick on the edge of the area.
After initially slipping in his run-up, Dane Milovanovic almost drove a powerful shot underneath the wall which forced Hume keeper Chris Oldfield into a terrific diving save.
A combination of shocking conditions and some excellent defence from both sides meant that chances were few and far between in the second half.
Tim Mala was particularly outstanding at the right side of defence, nailing a series of important slide tackles and successfully nullifying star Hume attacker Jai Ingham.
The game came to life in the final ten minutes when Hume had a big chance to level the scores, only for Calvin Mbarga’s header to sail over the crossbar.
Moments later Andy Brennan skipped down the field after a slip from a Hume defender, but the big Tasmanian’s shot went just wide of the post.
It mattered little, with the final whistle sounding a few moments later to give South a sixth league win in 2015.
Captain Michael Eagar commended the resilience of his squad after three wins in the last week:
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy tonight, but we knuckled down, did the hard yards and got the deserved three points,” Eagar said.
“We had a tough derby match last Saturday, then the midweek game and then another tough game tonight.
“It’s been a great effort by everyone in the squad; everyone has done their job when called upon. “
South face Pascoe Vale at the Lakeside stadium next Friday night, whilst Hume City face Green Gully next Saturday night at home.
MATCH DETAILS
Hume City 0 was defeated by South Melbourne 1 (25’ Lujic) at ABD Stadium, Valley Park, Broadmeadows.
South Melbourne Starting XI: Nikola Roganovic, Tim Mala, Michael Eagar, Luke Adams, Nick Epifano, Milos Lujic, David Stirton, Brad Norton, Iqi Jawadi, Dane Milovanovic, Andy Brennan
Hume City Starting XI: 1. Chris Oldfield 2. Dean Tomeski 4. Isyan Erdrogan 3. Shaun Timmins 5. Petar Franjic 7. Jai Ingham 9. Deng Aguek 10. Joey Franjic 13. Shane Rexhepi 17. Marcus Schroen 39. Nick Hegarty
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