Border Raiders FC rebounded from a difficult Swan Hill road trip with a crucial round 11 victory over Deniliquin.
With a top six now confirmed for the League 2 men's competition, the Raiders cemented themselves in the top echelon of the competition with a hard-earned 2-0 win over the Wanderers at Rotary Park in Deni.
This was mostly thanks to Pat Hicks' sensational free kick strike from outside the box to break a 48-minute deadlock, while a 66th-minute penalty to Eoin Rosney, his first of the season, confirmed the Raiders’ fourth win of the year.
Hicks, Rosney, Josh Rawo and returning player Beau Metcalf were pivotal in the victory as the Raiders’ charge to finals continues to be bolstered.
“Eoin was playing up in Sydney, he’s come this way and he’s a teacher by trade,” Raiders’ coach Jono Keele said.
“He’s played a fairly high level before so he’s been really good for us, really strong up top.
“Josh (Rawo) played well, I moved him from striker to right back and he created some issues for Deni running forward.”
But the win has come at a cost, with an injury to goal-keeper Kye Anderson set to keep him off the pitch for an extended period.
The win against last year’s grand finalist has seen the Raiders move seven points clear inside the top half of the ladder, but their momentum will be halted briefly with a bye this week after a scheduled League Cup clash against Shepparton SC was postponed.
Meanwhile, the women’s team will be back in action on July 9 against Swan Hill after having a bye last weekend.