Shepparton South's Jaxan McDonald and Tatura's Brodie Pena compete in the air.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Tatura has qualified for its fourth top-division grand final in five seasons on the back of a blistering start to its semi-final against Shepparton South.
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The Ibises heaped the pressure on South early, flying out to a 2-0 lead within 10 minutes after Tom Leech and Cody Sellwood scored in quick succession.
Both sides traded opportunities on goal before Declan Kinnane scored South’s first for the day, sending his side into half-time only a goal in arrears and still a chance of qualifying for back-to-back grand finals.
Those hopes were jarred as Brodie Pena’s 66th-minute strike saw one hole punched in the Ibises’ ticket to the grand final.
But still, there was another twist in the tail of the penultimate weekend of action after ever-dangerous Elijah Brooker’s 12th goal of the campaign with six minutes to play sparked a tense dash to the final whistle.
A stoppage time injury to Tatura’s Lucca Pena halted play, but the Ibises battled through to prevent another score, notching a thrilling 3-2 triumph and locking the Ibises in for yet another assault on local soccer silverware.
Tatura's Baltej Singh attempts to evade his opponent.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Shepparton South's Elijah Brooker launches with his right boot.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Shepparton South's Greg Nash and Tatura's Cody Sellwood attempt to win possession.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Tatura's Mason Hamilton kicks down field.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Tatura's Tristan Zito.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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Shepparton South's Murtaza Gulzari looks for a teammate.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
It will be a tough match-up, however, with reigning champions Shepparton United breezing through to this Sunday’s decider at McEwen Reserve.
The Blues made the journey across to Spring Gully’s Stanley Avenue Reserve, emerging triumphant in a comfortable 5-1 victory.
An early one-two punch from Willie Sauiluma and Tutu Taya saw the Blues out to a two-goal lead, one they held to the half-time whistle before talismanic striker Marcus Thomas made it 3-0 soon after the resumption of play.
An own-goal, followed swiftly by Hassan Alhilfi’s 89th minute strike, saw the Blues notch a convincing win to provide the perfect lead-in to the FV Greater Bendigo grand final.
The Blues and Ibises will face off at McEwen Reserve this Sunday, September 20 from 4pm.
United’s senior women will also be in contention after defeating Castlemaine-Goldfields 3-0 in the semi-final in Spring Gully.
Maria Villani, Sarah Loverso, and Lilli Wilson all found the back of the net to book a rematch against Spring Gully in the 1.30pm fixture, with neither side able to extract maximum points so far this year against each other after successive draws.
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