By Jordan Lim (@jordanlim24)

Box Hill United have been forced to work for its three points as a valiant Springvale White Eagles eventually succumbed to a late Rinor Muriqi strike to lose 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.

A tight affair was blown open after 60 minutes through Chris Irwin before defender Ryan Don Paul appeared to have salvaged a point for Springvale in the 85th minute. 

But substitute Muriqi struck in the final minute of normal time to boost Box Hill’s promotion chances.

The drama of the second half was a striking difference compared to a low-key first half, which saw both sides enter the rooms as they started.

United were happy to keep possession in their defensive half for much of the first term but despite the large amount of the ball, they lacked any real motivation to play forwards. 

When they did however, they looked a different team as some sharp one touch passing saw the opening chance of the game fall to Alex Schroen, and he forced the Springvale 'keeper into a low diving save with his goal bound curler.

The White Eagles on the contrary looked most likely on the counter, and they looked sharp on either flank as Hamish Millar and Vojislav Milojevic tried their hardest to create openings for the home side.

It was no surprise that their first conquest on the Box Hill net came through Millar who showed good balance to cut in off the right flank, only to see his shot held by Pavlidis.

The pair later linked up to create the best chance of the first half, as Millar on the counter played in an unmarked Milojevic whose claims for a penalty were turned down as the keeper was judged to have won the ball from the feet of the winger.

With the contest fast heading towards a scoreless draw – with the conditions worsening and the play scrappy - Irwin struck to put some much-needed life into the clash.

The midfielder had a pair of chances either side of the hour mark, but made the second count after dropping the shoulder and slotting home across the face of goal.

With the game getting away from Springvale, and the weight of chances falling Box Hill’s way, they somehow found a late equaliser, capitalising on a rare spell of pressure in the 85^th minute.

The goal came from an unlikely source as right back Ryan Don Paul slotted past a United defender into an open net from an angle.

It looked for all money like Springvale had nicked an unlikely point but Muriqi was on hand to silence the home crowd and gift his side an invaluable three points towards their promotion push.

The substitute capitalised on a spill from Bojan Tomic in goals for the White Eagles - who couldn’t hold a strong Michael Gerace strike – running on and finishing low inside the box.

Box Hill United captain Nick Kokolakis was pleased with the away win, but admitted the conditions overhead made it tough to play their usual fluent game. 

“The weather conditions played a big part in the way we had to readjust the way we played today. Over the moon to be able to come away from such a hard place [with the three points],” Kokolakis said.

“Credit to them, they set up really well so we were stoked to come away with the three points.”

Losing coach Zlatko Mihajlovic was left once again to rue sloppy defending as they fell to the late strike.

“We have a habit of giving away sloppy goals – It’s one of those [games] where we may have the chances here and there but we’re not clinical enough to finish any chances we create,” Mihajlovic said.

“We can’t switch on for 90 minutes. You’ve got to have that hunger to make sure you’re aware of situations like that so you can close it down, but we gave them too much space in areas where they penetrated us.”

MATCH DETAILS

Springvale White Eagles 1 (Don Paul 85') defeated by Box Hill United 2 (Irwin 60', Muriqi 89')

Springvale White Eagles: 12. Bojan TOMIC (GK), 18. Ryan DON PAUL, 4. Simo JOVANOVIC (8. Marcus HOLMES 69’), 6. Slavisa SARIC (11. Sanni DAUDA 69’), 3. Joey CALDERONE, 17. Slaven VRANESEVIC, 22. Milan JOVANOVIC, 21. Dejan ERAKOVIC, 19. Vojislav MILOJEVIC, 13. Hamish MILLAR, 5. Scott MILLAR (14. Joshua BOWEN 74’)

Unused Sub(s): 36. Anthony Casset, 16. Jamie De Smith

Yellow Card(s): Nil

Red Card(s): Nil 

Box Hill United: 35. Alex PAVLIDIS, 23. Josh VALADON, 22. Nick KOKOLAKIS, 26. Aaron PORCARO, 29. George Howard (10. Rinor MURIQI 62’), 12. Adrian Del Monaco, 42. Michael GERACE, 5. Alex SCHROEN, 4. Chris IRWIN (2. Nikola SURDOSKI 83’), 7. Damien PETERS, 3. Matt COLLIER (8. Amgad MARIEH 51’)

Unused Sub(s): 30. Alexander CONNELL, 16. Christian LAR

Yellow Card(s): Nil

Red Card(s): Nil