By David Nagel
Pakenham United has maintained bragging rights over Bunyip after the Cougars scored a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Strikers at the Bunyip Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
The Cougars made it two wins for the season against the nearest neighbours after a 3-0 victory over the Strikers in round three.
The second meeting between the two sides this year was chock full of early action with the first 20 minutes telling the story of the match.
The Cougars, who sit fourth on the ladder and haven’t been defeated since round five, started like a house on fire with Lado Suliman hitting the back of the net in the ninth minute.
Pakenham then doubled its lead when Dallas McNeil scored in the 15th minute….everything looked to be going swimmingly for the visitors.
But the game took a massive change in momentum in the 18th minute when Cougars’ keeper Josh Green was red carded and sent from the field. Green has been in great form for the Cougars this year but his omission from play saw coach Peter Natsis forced to make some changes.
Forced to reconfigure his defensive look, Cameron Sayce was the unfortunate player to depart the pitch with Matt Winzenried taking his place in a hastily-arranged 10-man set up.
Bunyip took advantage almost immediately with Jamie Faithful putting the Strikers on the board in the 20th minute of play.
Pakenham continued to make substitutions in the second half with Simon Johnston-Robertson replacing Vince Makota just after half time and Zain Ahmad adding some defensive structure to the 10-man fight by taking the place of attacker Samuel Adeyinka with 10 minutes left on the clock.
Chris Beasley then took the place of Ali Ulum and the Cougars settled in for the huge challenge of defending their 2-1 lead with only 10 players left on the pitch.
The desperation of both teams was clear to see with yellow cards being shown to Dusko Erkalovic and Elijah Gameau, but the Cougars held on for a very important win in their season.
The Cougars have now taken a near perfect 16 points from their last six outings to be one of the form sides of the competition. The Cougars will look to build on their recent momentum when they host Casey Panthers at IYU Recreational Reserve at 3pm on Saturday.
The Strikers, who have now slipped to seventh place on the ladder, hit the road this week to take on Knox United at Park Ridge Reserve.
MEN’S STATE LEAGUE 5 SOUTH SUMMARY
Round Results: Bunyip 1 v Pakenham 2, White Star Dandenong 3 v Knox 1, Aspendale 3 v Rosebud 1, Hampton Park 4 v Mentone 3, Casey Panthers v Mt Martha, South East United – Bye.
Standings: Mentone 28, Hampton Park 23, Aspendale 22, Pakenham 22, White Star Dandenong 18, Rosebud 15, Bunyip 11, Know 9, Casey Panthers 7, South East 6, Mt Martha 1.
Round Fixture: 3pm Saturday: Mt Martha v Hampton Park, Pakenham v Casey Panthers, Knox United v Bunyip, South East v White Star Dandenong. 8.30pm: Rosebud v Mentone, Aspendale – Bye.
