South's sitting pretty

July 29 2008

Shepparton News

A powerful strike from Rossi Lagana has kept Shepparton South in the box seat for a finals place by beating Tatura 2-1 at Tatura Park on Sunday.

The Southerners have held third spot on the North Eastern Soccer League ladder with the win, holding out a desperate Tatura comeback which almost snatched a draw.

South has 29 points to fourth-placed Shepparton United on 26, with Tatura now falling out of the finals positions to fifth on 25.

Lagana cracked a fierce left-footed shot through a pack of players and past Tatura goalkeeper Nathan Beavis early in the second half after controlling a shallow defensive clearance.

It gave South a 2-0 advantage after Connor Campbell's long-range free kick in the first half left the Tatura defence standing and bounced in at the far post.

The two-goal cushion was deserved for South at the time, having only narrowly missed out on a second goal before half-time when Luke Nardella's long shot smacked against the crossbar.

Tatura worked its way back into the contest with substitute Mohammed Saleh in the thick of the action, the striker clashing with South goalkeeper Keely Edwards without being awarded a penalty, while David Turkovic had a follow-up shot cleared off the line.

Saleh and Steve Bovalino then had shots hit the bar in the same passage of play as Shepparton South failed to clear a Tatura corner.

The Ibises' reward would eventually come, Saleh nodding in a Carmelo Bazzano corner with 10 minutes remaining.

But South held on to deny Tatura an equaliser, Turkovic coming the closest to scoring in the dying moments when his close-range header was deflected.

``To hold on and win was significant because we worked hard for our lead,'' Lagana said.

``It was good to win today, but we need to go to another level for our games against Cobram Victory and Shepparton in the run home.''