A midfield grind exploded to life in the final 10 minutes as Keilor Park found the goal it needed to claim a win over Western Suburbs in Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 1 soccer at Keilor Park Recreation Reserve on Saturday evening.
Both sides had their moments, only to draw blanks time and again.
And then it came.
The goal that would separate two evenly matched sides was scored by an unlikely source in the form of Keilor Park central defender Dean Campelj.
Campelj went forward for a corner and wound up scoring the winner with a sweetly timed header.
Keilor Park president Paul Portelli described the outcome as a good win in a very tough game.
“It was good to get the points because both sides needed the points badly with the way things are going in the competition,” he said.
That was not the end of the drama.
The two sides locked horns in disagreement in the dying stages, leading to red cards for Keilor Park pair Campelj and Ryan Filipovic.
“There was a bit of a scuffle,” Portelli said. “We got two players sent off, which didn’t help. We played a bit of stoppage time with nine men and held on for a great win.”
Keilor Park had already been weakened as injuries and suspensions mounted from prior weeks. The Eagles will at least get back captain Joel Nikolic for their next game, against ladder leader Geelong on Saturday, while defender Michele-Emanuele Crazia is likely to return from a knee strain.
Keilor Park is unbeaten in the past four matches, registering two wins and two draws in that time.
Sitting fourth, seven points behind leader Geelong, the Eagles will be eager to cut into the deficit when the two sides meet at Keilor Park Recreation Reserve on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re all looking forward to the Geelong game because if we can get a good result against them, it will put us back in the mix,” Portelli said.
Elsewhere in state league 1, North Sunshine Eagles suffered a third straight defeat, going down 1-0 to Geelong, which moved four points clear on top. Sydenham Park moved up to third after a 2-1 win over Preston Lions on the back of a Chris Davies double.
In state league 2, Ashley Webster fired in a hat-trick as Brimbank Stallions slammed Diamond Valley United 7-0.
Cairnlea edged Altona East Phoenix 2-1 after goals to Daniel Anagnostopoulos and Michael Esposito, while Westvale went down 3-2 to Fitzroy City and Westgate was toppled 3-1 by Whittlesea United.
