Saturday night stoush at the heart of Bendigo Amateur Soccer League round 10

Shepparton United is the ultimate example, hanging tough at the bottom of the table as the competition turned for home, but suddenly moving and shaking with a month to go.

United came to Vibert Reserve Saturday evening to meet rival Shepparton, itself recovering from a disappointingly slow start to its time back in the top flight.

There was plenty of feeling in it on the park as well as pitch side and an early penalty call and uncertainty over a disallowed goal, eventually given, only served to stoke the flames on a chilly night.

Mohammed Al-Gazaly, having crossed the divide from United just weeks ago, continued a remarkable streak of goals since beginning anew for Shepparton, dispatching his fourth in three matches.

Deadlocked at 1-1 coming into the second stanza, a raft of improbable chances and emphatic challenges began to define the clash before United finally broke through the gates in the final 10 minutes of a pivotal affair.

Edging ahead with a handful of minutes remaining sent the vocal United fans into raptures, spilling onto the touchline to celebrate, before the game was sealed in stoppage time when a seemingly harmless low drive inexplicably found its way back off the woodwork to be pounced upon.

The 3-1 result caps a pair of unbeaten derbies in the second half for United after giving up a last-gasp equaliser to South before the bye, now a crucial five points clear of the relegation zone.

Coach Roven Shaholli admired the fight his side brought.

“We were really confident from the start and the boys were really well-prepared,” Shaholli said.

“We haven’t had a stable team all year, but things are starting to look all right now.

“The first five minutes brought the confidence down a bit, but I think we controlled the game after that.

“It was a very important week for both teams this week; the result is huge for us after having a slow start with injuries and everything else, but we’re ticking along nicely.”

The record certainly shows improvement as far as the goal of avoiding the drop goes.

That said, Eaglehawk away is the next assignment for the blue side of Shepparton and Shaholli knows there’s little time to dwell on the recent uptick in form.

“I’m quite aware of what we’ve got to do to take three points away, especially doing it away from home,” Shaholli said.

“It helps playing Saturday night to get our boys prepared.

“We’re starting to play our brand of football and we’re looking better on the ball, which is nice.”

Elsewhere on Saturday evening, Tatura took the trip west to meet bottom side Spring Gully United.

As expected, the Ibises moved to 30 points from a possible 30 as strikes from Justin Milic, coach Tristan Zito and Fraser Gosstray — now with a six-game scoring streak and 14 for the year — led to a 3-0 victory.

While United would have been pleased with news from Bendigo, Sunday’s stunning result at McEwen Reserve would have been met much less warmly.

A whopping bag of four from Cooper Arkinstall doubled his season tally in 90 minutes as Epsom ran riot over Shepparton South, escaping bottom spot courtesy of a resounding 5-1 win.

While Spring Gully’s senior men fight for survival, the women continue to lead their division with ease following a 10th straight win, this time 3-0 over Tatura.

The difficulties continued for winless Shepparton South, remaining anchored to the table’s foot after a 4-2 home defeat to high-flying Strathsfieldsaye Colts.

There was good local news though, after Shepparton United continued its upward climb in emphatic fashion in knocking over Kyneton Districts 7-3.