THE Swan Hill men’s soccer team advanced to the grand final in extraordinary circumstances, upsetting Shepparton 2-1 in a game that was abandoned in the 87th minute after a fight broke out.
Shepparton had four players red carded over the course of the match, including three between the 85th and 87th minute, leading to the match being called off early and Swan Hill being declared the winners.
The Swans will now shoot for back-to-back premierships in the grand final against La Trobe University Red, who upset Golden City SC in the other knockout semi-final.
Swan Hill men’s coach Tony Di Palma spoke with The Guardian following the match and was ecstatic with his team’s performance in difficult circumstances.
“The boys really stood up and played the way we’ve been wanting to play all season,” Di Palma said.
“We spoke before the game about the way (Shepparton) like to play, as they are a big side and like to play a very physical style of football and try and intimidate, so for us it was all about focusing on our game and that’s exactly what we did.
“We’ve changed the formation a little bit over the last couple of weeks and that worked out pretty well for us on the weekend.”
The Swans started with Cooper Fox up front alongside league-leading goalscorer Conner Brown, with Gareth Johansen, Stephen Whittaker and Jason Stokes in the midfield alongside Anyueer Majur and Faizal Amran on the wings.
Despite the Swans controlling the play for much of the first half, they were unable to find the back of the net, ending the first half 0-0.
An injury to Johansen early in the second half forced Fox back into the midfield, before Hussain Algazali scored for Shepparton in the 61st minute.
Shepparton’s joy was short lived however, after Whittaker levelled the score just minutes later.
Swan Hill lifted from that moment on, with Stokes scoring five minutes later to put his side in front.
The Swans continued to press in an attempt to extend their lead, before the match was abandoned after a fight followed Amran being brought down in the box and a penalty being awarded.
Sunday’s grand final will be played at Shepparton’s McEwen Reserve, with kick off at 1.15pm.
