South Coast United made it back-to-back wins, following up their midweek victory over Woonona with a 3-1 scoreline on Sunday as they overcame a Picton team that still looked short of match practice. The familiar names of Steve Dimitrievski and Tommy Skara appear on the scoresheet for United, but this new-look side has a good balance of youth and experience, with the youngsters starting to form a useful alliance with the older hands in Greg Valic’s team. By half time, it was 3-0 to United.

Picton came out with more purpose in the second half and got one back through Dayne Morley, but they have yet to earn a point in this season’s Premier League and still have quite a backlog of fixtures to make up.

The visitors were missing several key players after red cards last week and the likes of Daniel Goodhew and Bradley Durrant not available. And they couldn’t have got off to a worse start, falling behind to a Dale Nicol own goal as the Rangers defender tried to clear a Ricky Bertakis corner in the second minute, but instead sliced the ball into his own net at the far post.

The early goal gave South Coast the confidence to play some wonderful one-touch football with much of it centring around new signing Moto Kinjo in midfield. Twice in the opening minutes he sent Josh Brookes through on goal, the youngster once beaten by the offside flag and once by a desperate last challenge from Nicol.

With twenty minutes gone United almost doubled their lead. Shinji Shozu played a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Skara, who lobbed the keeper and appeared to have scored until Scott Miranda somehow got back to head off the line.

The home fans didn’t need to wait long for the second, though. This time it was Bertakis who sent the ball through from half way. It fell nicely for Dimitrievski just inside the area. He let it bounce once and then unleashed a superb right foot shot into the top corner, giving Lachlan O’Bree in the Picton goal no chance.

At the other end Mitch Hall and Liam Storkey made occasional forays into the United area, but the United back line rarely looked stretched.

In the 40^th minute United made it 3-0 with the best move of the game. Teenager Jason Pappas won the ball on the halfway line and jinked back to fool his marker then released a pinpoint ball to the feet of Bertakis who flicked on for Skara charging into the area from the right. Skara drilled the ball low to the far post leaving O’Bree to stand and watch before picking the ball out of the net for the third time.

And it could easily have been 4-0 at half time when Skara sent in a dangerous cross from the right and Brookes just waiting for the tap in, before Miranda again got back to unsight the United youngster.

Picton came out with more poise and purpose in the second stanza. Hall tested Cameron Camilleri early on with a powerful shot from a tight angle, but it was a set-piece that gave the visitors the opening they needed.

Morley fired a free kick from 20 yards through a packed area and into the bottom corner to give his side hope in the 53^rd minute. But even with the fresh legs of Ben Roberts and Jesse Howard, on as substitutes with half an hour remaining, the Rangers just couldn’t capitalise on their possession.

And it was United who almost increased their lead before the end. First Kinjo sent a bullet of a header thundering against the bar before he saw the offside flag up; then it was Denis Stojic who sent a header looping onto the bar again as he came forward for a set-piece.

With ten minutes remaining the home side really should have scored their fourth and the flowing football of the move deserved a goal to finish it off. It was Bertakis again who set the ball rolling, finding Skara inside the box down the right. He crossed to an unmarked Kinjo ten yards out who seemed so surprised to have such a golden opportunity that he dwelt too long on the ball and gave O’Bree time to block.

Picton pressed hard in the dying minutes and might have caused an upset if they had just nicked a second. But Stojic got back to keep out a Roberts effort, and Storkey saw his close-range header fly inches wide, though the offside flag had caught him out anyway.

Speaking after the game United coach Valic said it had been a fantastic first half for his side: “At 3-0 up we were in a position we haven’t been at this club for some time. We sat back a bit in the second half and invited the pressure. They got one back but we rode it out defending well I thought.”

On the youth/experience blend in his side, Valic agreed that there were two or three players with probably 1,000 IPL games behind them, but equally half the side with half a dozen matches between them. But the blend is working well on today’s evidence.

Picton coach Brett Morley acknowledged that his team were second best on the day. “We were a bit sharper in the second half, but we’re still a bit off the pace in only our second game.” Looking ahead to his side’s massive FFA Cup game at home to Sydney Olympic in midweek, he said: “We’ll need to be more awake for that one. But we’re all looking forward to it”.

South Coast United FC – 3 (Nicol OG 2’, Dimitrievski 23’, Skara 40’)

Picton Rangers – 1 (Morley 53’)

Assists: South Coast: Bertakis 3                                                              

Sunday 23 April 2017

Ian McLennan Park

Referee: Steve Bozic

Assistant Referees: Lachlan Barker, Tristan James

South Coast United: Cameron Camilleri, Greg Valic, Steve Dimitrievski, Mate Nimac, Josh Brookes (,Abdul Lawal 81’), Jason Pappas, Tommy Skara, Ricky Bertakis, Shinji Shozu, Denis Stojic (Yu Takahashi 86’), Moto Kinjo (subs not used: Ivan Bratanscak, David Valic)

Picton Rangers: Lachlan O’Bree, Brendan Berkeley, Dale Nicol, Scott Miranda, Key Mitchell, Dayne Morley, Connor Dymond, Chris Sheerin (Ben Roberts 59’), Rhys Lloyd (Jesse Howard 66’), Liam Storkey, Mitchell Hall (subs not used:Hayden Berkeley, Ryan Davis)

Report by Simon Duffin