Let’s ignore the unpleasant conversations about the Australian Championship for now and focus on the game itself.

This was a big game in a poor timeslot. The crowd was small, but thankfully the match was great! South needed a point to mathematically secure NPL status for next year whilst Heidelberg needed a win to create some space from Avondale at the top of the table.

Despite the different ladder positions though this wasn’t another 3-0 humiliation for South, far from it, the team played delightful football despite missing key players including Brennan, Iwakami, Jankovic, Mikkola, Pope and Lampard.

South however is in form and has miraculously discovered some squad depth with our strong midseason recruitment pairing up nicely with our improved playstyle and form.

We actually took the lead! At the 25th minute Hellas (playing in their heritage kit) scored a wonderful goal that cut through Heidelberg with each. Starting from the back Hellas played through eventually to Dovinson who rounded the keeper and came agonizingly close to scoring himself were it not for the goal post. He composed himself though and pounced on the rebound to set up Leech who made no mistake of his shot.

Heidelberg went onto equalise at the 65th through Ngor but they celebrated the loudest at the 89th when the Bergers thought they sealed the win. However their second goal was scrubbed off after the striker was deemed to have fouled the South defender. This left the game to end as a draw and the Berger were seething!

It wasn’t the only controversial moment of the game though. Once again we were denied a penalty shout, but to wrap up with a positive note, it turns out nine of our players that came onto the field were former South youth players! That’s a good story no matter how you look at it!