Up against the same team that defeated them by 7 goals only a week earlier, Havoc’s Lakeside Men’s team had a tough task ahead of them on Wednesday night. With a depleted squad in its previous outing against NFI United in Round 2, the team added Jake Winn and Sam Rogers to boost its attacking and defensive strength respectively.
Havoc’s starting line-up was fairly balanced. Rogers was assigned goalkeeper with Jon Tamvakis and Josh Henderson positioned in defence while Winn and Rhys Hawker took the front line. On the bench were George Bezas and Lachlan Spiteri. Rob McAndrew was left out of the squad due to unavailability.
The opening minutes of the game were under the control of Oakleigh Havoc. The side scored the opening three goals of the game, through a Winn double and a Hawker goal, to take an early 3-0 lead in the first half. Their opponents retaliated though, quickly scoring two goals to leave a one goal margin.
The game continued with the sides trading goals either side of the court, an entertaining spectacle for the neutral viewer. By the end of the half, the scores were locked at 6-5 in Havoc’s favour. Goals from Hawker, Bezas and Winn, his third for the night, securing a slim lead into the second half.
The half lacked goals in the early minutes with neither side able to break through each other’s respective defences. It wasn’t until a goalkeeper substitution between Winn and Rogers that United were able to equalize with 11 minutes remaining. It set a tense final 10 minutes of the game, however, Havoc stepped up to the plate.
Hawker tapped in his third goal of the night to secure his hat-trick while Spiteri launched a rocket shot into the top left corner to give Oakleigh a two-goal lead at 8-6. Henderson followed suit with the team’s ninth of the night, tapping in a quick cross from the right by Bezas.
The night was not finished for the club as their opponents provided a scare in the final minutes. United slotted two goals in the space of three minutes to come within a goal of equalizing. With seconds remaining, however, NFI were unable to forge an attack leaving Havoc with a valuable three points.
The result sees the team take its first victory of the season after an extremely shaky start where they struggled to field a team. After redeeming themselves against an opponent that dominated them last week, the side will go on to face Hammertime next week.