Zoran Juraj SABLJAK
Melbourne Knights suffered a 3-1 defeat to rivals South Melbourne Hellas in last Monday night’s OG Derby clash at Lakeside Stadium. The match demonstrated moments of promise for the Knights, but South Melbourne’s clinical finishing proved decisive.
The Knights had an early opportunity to strike first when Leo Mazis found himself in a promising position, only to send his volley attempt over the crossbar. South Melbourne then began to assert their dominance, breaking the deadlock in the 33rd minute after the Knights failed to deal with a long throw-in effectively.
The first half troubles continued for the Knights when they conceded a second goal in similar fashion, once again struggling to clear their lines from a long throw-in. South Melbourne capitalised on this defensive uncertainty to take a commanding 2-0 lead into the break.
The Knights showed renewed vigour after halftime, controlling much of the possession. Their efforts were rewarded in the 65th minute when Marc Petheriotis found the back of the net, converting an excellent cross from Masatou Chiba.
However, any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed as South Melbourne responded almost immediately, scoring their third goal to restore their two-goal advantage.
Despite pushing forward in search of goals in the closing stages, the Knights couldn’t breach South Melbourne’s resolute defence again, with the match ending 3-1 to the hosts.
The Knights will look to bounce back quickly as they prepare for their next fixture against Avondale at home this Friday evening at Tompsett Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 7:30 PM.