By Lance Jenkinson
It was better late than never for Hoppers Crossing in the Football Victoria men’s state league 2 north-west at the weekend.
The Reds preserved their spot at the top of the ladder courtesy of a 94th minute winner from the penalty spot to prolific scorer Jason Hayne in a 1-0 victory over Epping City at Grange Reserve.
Hayne took the plaudits for his goal, but it was Matthew Scott who was the architect.
Scott produced a marauding run from the midfield, weaving through a tiring Epping City defence and drawing a penalty from a sloppy tackle.
“He drove the ball from midfield into our attacking half and just kept going,” Reds coach Shaun Barbara said.
“The space opened up for him, so he kept driving towards the box and got brought down.
“Fortunately one of their most experienced defenders had a rush of blood to the head, dived in for a tackle and we got the penalty.”
With only one point separating Hoppers Crossing with second-placed Fitzroy City, the importance of extracting maximum points out of the contest was not lost on the players.
Hayne took the responsibility to kick the Reds to victory from the spot and never hesitated.
“There was only going to be one man step up really,” Barbara said.
“He grabbed the ball, put it on to the spot and put it in the top corner.
“The goalkeeper went the right way, but there was too much power and it was clinically put into the top corner.”
This was one of Hoppers Crossing’s gutsiest wins of the season.
There were times when the Reds rode their luck with the crossbar coming to the rescue, a defender clearing off the line or goalkeeper Washington Bgoni pulling off a great save.
Bgoni has been outstanding in his two games since taking over from first choice goalkeeper Kieron Sharratt, who succumbed to a facial injury.
Bgoni has kept clean sheets against the two title contending teams.
“The kid’s done really well,” Barbara said.
“He’s been working hard with Kieron all year.
“He’s been biding his time, he’s been patient and working his socks off in the ressies, so he got his chance against Corio and he’s done well.”
While Hoppers Crossing had its fair share of luck, it created its own luck in the second half.
The Reds got stronger as the game went on and threatened constantly in the final 20 minutes.
The match-winning goal was no mean feat against a stubborn Epping City.
“They’re really well organised, well disciplined,” Barbara said.
“They’ve got some really good individual players as well.
“We knew how hard it was going to be and thankfully the boys stuck to the task.
“We’re at home, it’s our ground, so we want to really take the game to them. The last 15 or 20 minutes, we certainly did that.”
The key drivers through the midfield for Hoppers Crossing were Scott, Junya Takabatake and Takuya Yoshimi.
Hoppers Crossing will visit seventh-placed Geelong Rangers in the 20th round on Saturday.
