I pulled into my drive way just after kick off. My Sunday league team had managed a draw against the ladder leaders and I was hoping for some similar good fortune as I checked the score on my phone. South 1 Victory nil. Fantastic.

I headed inside and managed 15 minutes of the stream, but after watching two Victory goals I got the message. I turned off the TV and waited until after the game to check the scores. South 4 Victory 2. I am now considering if I should ever watch the stream again.

Seriously though the YouTube streaming product is amazing. Generally good picture, sound and knowledgeable commentary, instantly available for re-watch, we are spoiled these days.

A bit more detail on the game. As we did against the Knights, South started strongly and scored from a corner 15 minutes into the game when Jankovic converted a header in the box. The tide turned through and a spritely Victory managed to play their way into the game. Hoey scored after some poor defensive marking and soon after Harding playing in an unnatural position conceded a penalty which allowed Mihailidis to give Victory the lead just before half time.

The penalty conceded to Victory was a clumsy one and not exactly in a dangerous position, but it’s hard to argue against. I know many people might point to the earlier penalty shout from South, but to me that seemed like more of a stretch. Regardless, we went into the sheds 2-1 down. Were we crumbling under the pressure? Were we being outplayed? Were we returning to our earlier season form? The second half answered that question decisively.

This game saw many of our injured players return to the pitch, or to form in generally and boy did it help. Mikkola levelled the score with an absolute cracker from outside of the box, beating the Victory keeper to the bottom corner. Soon after Bonada gave South fans a highlight that seemed to belong to 2024 –  a tight scuffle in the box, physical dominance of the marking defender and an unlikely conversion whilst facing away from goal.

Although we benefited from players returning, we faced a Victory side who were forced to rest their own. Following the conclusion of the A-League season mandated rest supposedly meant Victory’s A-League players were unable to play this game. This meant no Jing Reece (who smashed us in the reverse fixture) and a reserve keeper who was clearly out of his depth.

Later in the game another corner undid Victory when their keeper out in no man’s land, failed to clear the ball only for it to be headed home by Marshall. That’s right, three of our four scorers only recently returned from injury. This is heartening to know heading into the game next week, but by all accounts that won’t be easy.

We face St Albans next week who by all accounts were unlucky not to nab three points against Heidelberg. Two wins is great for us and places us in 10th place now, however those results were against a youthful Victory and a mess of a Melbourne Knights. St Albans away will be a proper relegation scrap against a well versed in such games.

A win is a win though and it was crucial to secure this one. Well done boys, I guess I can watch the stream in full now!