Seaford Take home all 3 In Fiery Local Derby

Round 3 Recap – Seaford United SC v Mount Eliza Soccer Club

Jordan Vacouftsis

From the first whistle both teams didn’t take a backward step with end-to-end football and no shortage of strong tackles, it was clear both teams were up for this derby. In the 12th minute, Mount Eliza was forced to make a change after Cohan King was on the receiving end of a hard tackle and had to be stretchered off.

After a brief delay, the game continued and Seaford started to carve out some great chances. In the 38th minute, the ball fell to Seaford Captain, Blake Hicks on the edge of the box. He curled a first-time effort that looked destined for the top corner, however, Mount Eliza Goalkeeper Luke Armao was quick to react and palmed the ball away keeping the game locked at 0-0. Moments before the halftime whistle, Mount Eliza Winger, Nickel Chand found himself past Seaford’s defence and one-on-one. Attempting to round the keeper and place the ball home Nickel was denied by Hayden Hicks who produced an excellent save. A tense 45 minutes came to a close with the game in the balance at 0-0.

The second half began just as intense as the first with tackles flying in left, right and centre. With tempers flaring and the game sitting on a knife’s edge it didn’t take long for things to boil over. In the 55th minute, Seaford United’s Josh Vega received a straight red card after head-butting a Mount Eliza player following a strong collision.

With Seaford down to 10 men and 35 minutes to play, Mount Eliza began the hold the line share of possession. However, it was the 10 men of Seaford who looked more dangerous on the counter. In the 70th minute, Seaford broke the deadlock with a stunning goal directly from a corner. An ‘Olimpico’ from Backtash Barakzoi proved to be the difference as Seaford's resilient 10 men defended the one-goal advantage until the final whistle. Despite having a man advantage, Mount Eliza didn’t muster anything more than half chances which disappointed the home crowd. They are now 1 win from 3 games with another massive derby next week against Mount Martha.

Seniors

Seaford United  SC ( 1 - 0 ) Mount Eliza SC

Reserves

Seaford United  SC ( 3 - 0 ) Mount Eliza SC