By Alen Delic (@AlenDelic)

A nine-man Moreland City has snatched a win against a 10-man Bendigo City side in a spirited encounter at Campbell Reserve on Saturday afternoon.

Handbags before half time saw Orry Kara and Casey Thomas sent off for Moreland City, while Keegan Smyth picked up a red for Bendigo.

Moreland took the lead early in the second through Kam Simsek, before a counter late in the second half saw Lisandro Paz seal the points on his debut.

The game started with none of the furore that was to unfold, with both sides looking unlikely to produce anything outside of a set-piece or a mistake.

It took 20 minutes for the game to get its first real chance, when Ossie Kose broke free down the left wing, before scuffing his shot across the face of goal.

Captain Orry Kara had the best chance of the half for the hosts, rising highest from a corner only for it to be cleared off the line.

After half an hour, Bendigo began to find its feet.

A lob over the top of Moreland’s defence almost left Slefendorfas one-on-one with Galgano, but the goalkeeper was quick off his line to clear the dangerous ball.

The chances kept coming for Bendigo as midfielder Corey Slevin brought the ball in from the right wing, played a square ball past Galgano but there was no one in the middle to finish off the simple chance.

Both sides’ frustrations boiled over just before half time when a tangle between Casey Thomas and Keegan Smyth escalated into an altercation.

The referee deemed the handbags serious enough to earn both players red cards, before captain Kara joined them after being unable to contain his petulance.

Despite earning two red cards, Moreland came out in the second half throwing caution to the wind, bringing on youngsters Quinn McDonald and Yianni Avramidis, and moving to three at the back with two attacking wing-backs.

The gamble paid off for the hosts just two minutes in, when a scuffed shot found Nej Sahin on the left wing, who expertly crossed to Simsek on the six-yard box. Simsek’s initial shot was expertly saved by D’Oria, but he made no mistake on the rebound, slotting to give Moreland a 1-0 lead.

He had a chance to double his tally 10 minutes later when he was one-on-one with D’Oria, but the Italian goalkeeper produced a superb save to come out on top.

Moreland began to pull back, dropping their wingbacks and looking to hold their lead.

But Bendigo had no answer to the hosts’ compressed defence, struggling to make any meaningful chances. Instead, the hosts opted to spread the ball and try and get the depleted side out of position, but the nine-men were having none of it.

With just 10 minutes to go, the equaliser almost came. A shot from the edge of the area looked destined for the top corner, but Galgano produced a spectacular save worthy of any highlights reel to keep the visitors at bay.

That save was a momentum changer, and shortly after, Moreland doubled its lead.

A quick break saw new signing Lisandro Paz speed past the Bendigo defence, finding himself one-on-one with D’Oria.

With almost his first touch for his new club, Paz placed the ball in the bottom right corner to double the lead, and seal a famous win for Moreland City.

 

Match details:

Moreland City 2 (Simsek 48’, Paz 84’) defeated Bendigo City 0 at Campbell Reserve, Coburg

Moreland City: 1. Brandon GALGANO, 2. Yang TOU-YENG, 18. Orry KARA, 12. Shane CARR, 20. Rob BASSANO, 17. Liam BRIAN (4. Quinn McDONALD 45’), 14. Casey THOMAS, 7. Ossie KOSE (9. Lisandro PAZ 84’), 11. Kam SIMSEK, 21. Nej SAHIN, 13. Vlad KHAMEES (5. Yianni AVRAMIDIS 45’)

Unused substitutes: 10. Liam FRANCIS, 16. Nathan GOURZELAS

Yellow card(s): 20. Bassano 38’, 5. Avramidis 71’

Red card(s): 14. Thomas 45’, 18. Kara 45’

Bendigo City: 1. Gian D’ORIA, 2. Riley DILLON, 3. Tristan ROMEIN, 4. Daniel REES, 5. Rylan SADLER, 6. Jason SHADE, 7. George McHEILEH, 8. Karl SLEVIN, 9. George SLEFENDORFAS, 11. Corey SLEVIN, 14. Keegan SMYTH

Unused substitutes: 10. Greg THOMAS, 21. Prince QUANSAH, 13. Joe WILLIAMS, 30. St. Ares GILLARDI, 16. Sam SCOBLE

Yellow card(s): 2. Dillon 64’, 6. Shade 82’, 5. Sadler 86’

Red card(s): 14. Smyth 45’