Shepparton United is the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League champion for 2025.
Shepparton United has defeated Shepparton South in the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League grand final after a seven-minute purple patch put away its cross-town rival.
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With tense moments in the early going, it took until the 28th minute for the Blues to find the ascendancy, as Hassan Alhilfi sunk a dribbling goal past the keeper into the back of the net.
It wouldn’t be long after that the Blues would place a buffer on their black and white opponent.
United’s Riki Koyanagi made it 2-0 at the 35th minute and South was shell-shocked.
Battling out the final 10 minutes of the half, United entered the sheds with a strong advantage over the first-placed rival, with coach Roven Shaholli believing more goals were left out on the park.
“The boys were well-prepared despite having our two captains missing,” Shaholli said.
“They had to step up and fill big shoes of those boys.
“Especially in the first half, we had our chances and we could’ve finished the half off strong and enjoyed the second, but two to nil, it’s a dangerous lead.”
Prepared for an “intense” finish, South would indeed offer one final challenge with everything on the line.
Breathing fire from the whistle to commence the second half, Shepparton South adopted a physical approach to the contest – evidenced by four second half yellow cards.
Shepparton United's Hussan Alhilfi was prolific up forward, scoring a grand final goal.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
In turn, it paid off on the scoreboard, as Jaxan McDonald made no mistake at the 66th minute to rein in the lead to 2-1.
South began to control the tempo and there was a sense that an equaliser could be found.
“From both sides, players were going for it, everyone was giving it their all,” Shaholli said.
But as the clock ticked further to full-time, no football found its way into the netting at Beischer Park, and as the 90th minute hit, a sea of blue enveloped the pitch’s green grass.
Shepparton United was champion.
With the cup in their hands, the Blues had completed the season double following their mid-season tournament win in the BASL League Cup, but undoubtedly, the competition championship tastes sweeter for the Blues.
With a 9-3-2 win-loss-draw record, United came in as slight underdog against South, but delivered clinically on the biggest stage.
“Credit to (Shepparton South), it was a cracker game,” Shaholli said.
“We gave it everything we had and to have the support we had throughout the whole week and the whole year, was something unbelievable.
“The love that these supporters give these boys is unreal, to give some happiness back to the club – it’s all for them.”
In the Central Victorian Youth competition, Shepparton South was on the right side of history with a 4-1 victory over Spring Gully United, while in the BASL’s Central Victorian League 1 reserves Shepparton fell heartbreakingly short of Eaglehawk, 1-0.
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