ZIA Sherzai must have turned up to Sycamore Reserve with a bullseye on his back.
The flying winger was the target of unwanted attention in Hoppers Crossing’s brave 4-2 win over Plenty Valley Lions in the Football Federation Victoria men’s provisional league 2 north-west on Saturday.
The Reds claim that Sherzai was kicked behind play more than once and was also on the receiving end of some hefty tackles.
Reds coach Joey Vella was disappointed with the actions of the home side, whose bid to unsettle one of his main men failed.
“It was a character win for us. It wasn’t the prettiest game. There were a few things behind the play, but we toughed it out and had a real mature win.”
Sherzai obviously has a thick skin. The excitement machine did not let the extra attention get to him. In fact, it spurred him on to one of his best performances of the season.
Sherzai was a menace to the Lions in a football sense. He used his speed and trickery to have the defenders at sixes and sevens on his way to earning player of the match honours.
“He was unbelievable,” Vella said. “He was one of the boys who got targeted, kicked behind play and he just dusted himself off and kept going.
“Every time he had the ball, he would run at defenders and beat them with his pace.”
Sherzai had an impact on all four Reds goals.
Twice he ran into the heart of the defence and picked out a teammate in a better position.
He earned a penalty with one of his trademark barnstorming runs into the box.
After putting his top-of-the-table team in a position to claim all three points, he got rewarded with the game-sealing goal. Vella summed up his game in a nutshell: “He did everything”. The physicality of the game did unsettle the Reds for a half. They were locked at 2-2 at half-time after twice trailing.
The Reds settled down in the second half, mainly through the leadership of captain Julian Zach, who shored up the defence, and enterprising play of Joe Nave, who was given the green light to push forward from his regular defensive midfield post.
After second-placed Epping City lost, the Reds opened up a six-point break at the summit, although City has a game in hand.
“The past two weeks have shown we deserve to be on top of the league,” Vella said. “We’ve played our best and beaten the best.”
SCORES:
State League 1: Werribee City 2 Port Melbourne Sharks 3.
Provisional League 2: Plenty Valley Lions 2 Hoppers Crossing 4.
Metropolitan League: Truganina 2 Keilor Wolves 4.
