By Brandon Galgano (@bgalgano94) 

Heidelberg United has been held to a scoreless draw by rivals Port Melbourne in a somewhat dour match at Olympic Village this evening. 

The hosts may have had the better of the opportunities but it was their inability to finish their chances which was their downfall. 

For the visitors though, it was a much needed point following on from their victory over Goulburn Valley last weekend as the Sharks fight for NPL survival. 

Port was the first to go close with Labros Honos firing wide from the edge of the area in the 16^th minute. 

They very nearly found themselves behind though just seconds later as NPL leading-scorer Dan Heffernan beat two defenders on entering the penalty area before his left footed strike was brilliantly tipped wide by Stjepan Gal. 

With the hosts dominating in possession it seemed that Port could only trouble through set pieces, and once again it was Heidelberg who created the next goal scoring opportunity with Kaine Sheppard heading over the bar in the 28^th minute. 

Heidelberg continued to win the battle in midfield but they couldn’t break down a sturdy Port defence with both sides going into the break locked at 0-0. 

Sharks head coach Eric Vassiliadis decided to bring on winger Kamal Ibrahim in the hopes of sparking an ailing Port Melbourne attack, but it was Heidelberg who once again went close to breaking the deadlock.

A fantastic cross from John Lazaridis found the head of Daniel Vasilevski but the former Melbourne Victory midfielder couldn’t keep his header down. 

Port then began to create some chances of their own and it was once again off the set-piece where they went close, as James Riccobene whipped in a dangerous ball to the back post only for substitute Ibrahim to head over from close range. 

Heidelberg then had major shouts for a penalty turned down in the 62nd minute as Heffernan’s effort from close range seemed to hit the hand of a Port Melbourne defender, but despite fierce protests from the Heidelberg players, the referee waved play on.

It was Ibrahim again who had Port’s best opportunity of the match as a mistake from McMaster saw the ball drop to the feet of the former Melbourne Heart midfielder but he couldn’t keep his effort down with the Bergers' goalkeeper well out of position. 

Heidelberg should’ve taken the lead though in the 67th minute as once again a wonderful cross from the right picked out Sheppard who was unmarked just meters out from goal, but he only managed to direct his header straight into the arms of Gal. 

With Heidelberg continuing to dominate in possession it seemed that a goal was an inevitability but Port stood strong at the back to hold on for a point. 

There was some late drama though as substitute Nicholas Krousoratis was sent off for a second bookable offence with just seconds remaining meaning he will be suspended for Port Melbourne’s next match against Green Gully. 

Heidelberg coach George Katsakis expressed his disappointment in his side’s inability to finish off their chances before venting his frustration at the referee’s decision not to award a penalty kick. 

“Look I think we had two or three really good chances to win the match in the second half but unfortunately we didn’t capitalise on them,” Katsakis said.

“You would think that coming off a 5-5 draw last week we could at least score a goal at home and maybe get a win out of it but it just wasn’t to be.

“I thought there was a clear opportunity for a penalty for us, I thought it was a clear handball and it was certainly a penalty.” 

Vassiliadis on the other hand was pleased with his side’s defending but still felt that his side didn’t create enough chances to win the game. 

“Look we wanted to be hard to beat and we ticked that off but for me we weren’t creative enough in the front third and as a result we didn’t have many chances in front of goal,” Vassiliadis said.

“I want to focus on the positives though and we came here with a plan to not concede and we did that so overall I am happy with our performance today.”

MATCH DETAILS

Heidelberg United 0 drew with Port Melbourne 0 at Olympic Village 

Heidelberg United: Griffin McMaster, John Lazaridis, Luke Byles, Steven Pace, Les Doumbalis (Jordan Wilket 82’), Jack Petrie, Jacob Williams (Costa Kanakaris 76’), Mark McGough, Daniel Vasilevski (Andrew Cartanos 73’), Dan Heffernan, Kane Sheppard 

Unused Subs: Evan Markogiannakis, Harris Stamboulidis 

Yellow Cards: Byles 50’, Wilket 84’

Red Cards: None 

Port Melbourne: Stjepan Gal, Chris Grossman, Milos Ridesic Connor Reddan, James Riccobene, Nicky McNamara, Andrew Milicevic (Luka Prelavic 76’), Phillip Riccobene, Lambros Honos, Zois Galanopoulos (Nicholas Krousoratis 65’) , Alexander Antonescu (Kamal Ibrahim 46’) 

Unused Subs: Adam Hrehoresin, Timothy Paton 

Yellow Cards: J. Riccobene 41’, Krousoratis 76’, 90’ 

Red Cards: Krousoratis 90’ 

Image credit: Mark Avelino