MOE United was out to repeat its winning performance against Sale United when it faced Traralgon Olympians on Sunday in round 12 of Gippsland soccer.
The Devils came out firing and dominated possession in the first half, but were unable to convert their chances.
Moe finally capitalised on its superior possession in the second half when it found the back of the net on four occasions. Substitute Jake Heusmann opened the scoring with a finish from the top of the box.
The goals came quick and fast as Adrian Savage added a brace to his growing season tally and Lee Dastey continued his great season with another goal from his attacking centre back role. The win strengthened Moe’s second-placed position on the ladder.
Fortuna v Sale United
Fortuna travelled to Sale in a bid to avenge its round three loss to United.
In an intense, hard-fought game, Sale was up to the task with Ashley Ross getting on to the end of a through ball to slot it home for the Swans. From then on it was end-to-end action as Fortuna searched for the equaliser. In the second half the Lions hammered the goals, hitting the crossbar twice, but the resilient Sale defence weathered the barrage of attacks.
Joel Pirotta from Fortuna had a one-on-one in the dying minutes, but the Sale goalkeeper was up to the task.
Sale held on to record 1-0 victory.
Traralgon City v Falcons 2000
In a tight game Falcons 2000 broke the deadlock in the 60th minute to take the lead and held it to secure all three points against Traralgon City.
Tyers v Monash
Monash entered the game full of confidence against Tyers and was travelling at half-time with a 2-1 lead.
Following a poor first half, Tyers brought its A game out after the break and pushing hard for a goal.
Steve Ward made it 2-2 before Shayne Pavich got on the end of a through ball, taking on a defender and the goalkeeper to fire home with seven minutes remaining.
Tyers held on to post only its second win of the season..
NYU v Churchill United
Churchill eventually overcame a determined Newborough Yallourn outfit on Sunday when it posted a 3-1 victory to remain on top.
NYU posted a warning early on to the reigning champions that its back-to-back wins in recent weeks were no fluke as they put Churchill’s defence under pressure.
Hayden Cook gave the Combine a deserved lead with a spectacular 20-yard screamer that beat Rams custodian Jason Sands.
NYU looked like they would hold onto its lead going into the half-time break, but top scorer Paul Riess squared the ledger when he coolly finished a neat Churchill build-up.
Churchill strived to gain the ascendancy in the second half as NYU defended grimly.
It was Riess again who found the breakthrough to claim a brace and make it 2-1 when he ran onto a through ball from Taylor Jackson.
The Combine were not about to lie down and almost pulled level as the ball smacked against the crossbar as time ticked away. Churchill ended the contest with some classy play from midfielder Matthew Maselli, who laid on a back heel for the running Jackson to finish clinically and make it 3-1.
Another talented youth chosen
Nathan Lugton has been selected as the seventh Gippsland representative to take part in the next phase of Melbourne Heart’s youth team talent identification process.
This brings the total number of players selected from the region to seven.
