By Steven Talevski.

Springvale White Eagles managed to hold onto a 1-1 draw during wet and windy conditions against Melbourne Knights at White Eagles Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Springvale remain without a win after five matches in their return season to the Victorian Premier League, while Melbourne Knights remain two points outside the top five.

The game began as a cagey affair as Springvale pushed early to get a lead as the attacking options of Milos Lujic and Goran Zoric gave the Knights no room to spread the ball along their backline.

The referee was then forced to decide not to hand Springvale striker Milos Lujic a penalty after a controversial foul, which unsurprisingly, was met with loud complaints from the home crowd.

As the match progressed, the telling factors of wind and rain effected the movement of the ball.

Both defences played important roles in the early stages of the match as influential players such as Knights winger Mathieu-luc Nelmant were kept quiet.

The first solid chance of the game came to Tome Racunica who miss controlled his first touch from a well crossed delivery by Milos Lujic.

As the game continued both Scott Agustin and John Martin became prominent in their goals by clearing numerous corners and attacks.

Zoran Vukas found some space in the 36th minute as his well hit shot went past the top right corner as Springvale continued to push on.

The game was changed in the 42nd minute as Gordan Mrdic was able to get onto a rebound in the 18 yard box to slot in the opening goal of the game and send the Springvale crowd into celebrations.

As the first half came to a close, Knights defender Shaun Romein was given a yellow card for his foul on goal scorer Gordan Mrdic.

The second half began with a substitution for the Melbourne Knights that would tell to be crucial, as Daniel Dragicevic came on for the yellow carded Shaun Romein.

Jean Charles Dubois created some space in the 51st minute and put his shot just wide from the right post as the knights began to play some creative attacks.

Gordan Zoric impressed for Springvale as his well-placed cross to captain Tome Racunica forced the knights keeper Martin John to make a comfortable save.

Springvale continued to find space as the knights attacked and a scramble in the knights defence saw Zoran Vukas’s shot go just wide.

Josip Magdic had a golden opportunity for the Knights in the 60th minute as he was left unmarked from an Anthony Colosimo cross that saw him place his header straight to Scott Agustin’s chest.

Melbourne Knights hit the equaliser in the 67th minute as substitute Daniel Dragicevic crossed to Jean Charles Dubois who put his header into the corner for a well-placed goal.

Jean Charles Dubois then had a chance to hand the knights the lead but his shot was well saved by the leg of Springvale goalkeeper Scott Agustin.

Melbourne Knights continued to look threatening and winger Mathieu-Luc Nelmant found himself loose inside the 18 yard box forcing Scott Agustin into a miraculous save towards his top left corner from a volley.

Scott Agustin continued to keep the score level as the Knights failed once again to scramble through a goal as Agustin made another big save.

Springvale goal scorer Gordan Mrdic received a yellow card in the 85th minute as the Knights missed another opportunity and saw a header sail over the crossbar.

The Melbourne Knights midfield controlled by captain Ben Surey, continued to push for a defining goal and were handed their last chance of the game as Anthony Colosimo’s cross skimmed over the crossbar which almost gave the Scott Agustin a tricky situation.

During injury time Springvale found themselves in a counter-attack as Gordan Zoric’s shot smacked the crossbar to almost hand a shock last minute winner for the home team.

In what proved to be a tight stalemate, the game ended as a 1-1 draw with an impressive performance by man of the match, Ben Surey.

Springvale look to earn their first win of the season next Sunday at Churchill Reserve against St Albans Saints, while Melbourne Knights look to enter the top five when they host VTC Football at Knights Stadium on Wednesday night.


Springvale White Eagles: Scott AGUSTIN, Adam EWIN, Boris BAJIC, Tome RACUNICA (Rados TOMIC 87’), Gordan MRDIC, Milos LUJIC, Dushan NIKOLIC, Dominic D’ANGELO (Lewis KARANICOLAS 81’), Zoran VUKAS, Nikola VELJOVIC, Goran ZORIC. Unused Subs: Christian MORALES, Paul MAGHIAR, Andres JEREZ.

Yellow Cards: Bajic 76’, Mrdic 85’, Nikolic 91’.

Goal: Mrdic 42’.

Melbourne Knights: John MARTIN, Shaun ROMEIN ( Daniel DRAGICEVIC 46’), Ryan FILIPOVIC, Ben SUREY, Leo SHIN, Meyer Carlos DE CAMAGO JUNIOR, Josip MAGDIC (Craig SWEENEY 72’), Josip KOZIC, Anthony COLOSIMO, Jean Charles DUBOIS, Mathieu-Luc WELMANT. Unused Subs: Amadu KOROMA, Aaron ROMEIN, Jacob COLOSIMO.

Yellow Cards: Romein 45’, Surey 91’.

Goal: Dubois 67’.