Bendigo Amateur Soccer League points become vital as the bye beckons

Against a high-flying Eaglehawk, though, South brought it all together under Saturday night lights at McEwen Reserve.

Appiah was looking like the man in charge again early, wasting little time bringing the crowd to its feet with his fifth and sixth goals of the season.

Young dual-sport talent Keiran Hogeboom got his name on the score sheet for the first time in senior competition this year before Appiah completed his hat-trick after half-time, adding an exclamation point to the rout.

To Eaglehawk’s credit, having sat second coming into the weekend, Alex Caldow fired back a response shot in the second half for his fourth of the season, maintaining a place in the league’s top five scorers.

It was comfortably South’s night, though, as last year’s runner-up took back third place in a commanding 4-1 win.

Coach Lewis Coyle was delighted to see everything click on the night.

“I thought we were very good. We set out to work on a couple of things at training and, in the past couple of weeks, we’ve turned it around,” Coyle said.

“We’ve started playing good football and we’re getting more consistent and applying determination and heart.

“We’ve still had injuries and suspensions, but I’ve enjoyed bringing in the youth and trying to integrate them.”

One of those youths to benefit has been Hogeboom, who earned his own praise from the boss.

“Keiran’s professionalism has been great,” Coyle said.

“He’s courageous in the tackles and it’s really good to see him slot into the seniors.

“As for Stephen, it’s taken a little bit to get going, but it’s on me as the coach to free him up so he can do what he does best.

“He’s got raw pace with a good touch and teams have started to target him and try and get into his head, but he showed us some beautiful things Saturday.”

South, like the rest of the league, now heads into recess for the King’s Birthday weekend general bye.

Sitting third with a positive ledger and narrowing the gap to two points on Eaglehawk in second are strategic victories for now at the club, though.

“Winning a derby (against Shepparton United) was good to see, but we were kind of stagnant early (in the season),” Coyle said.

“We needed to show our true colours and it’s a credit to the squad that they turned it around.

“I told them, ‘if you put 110 per cent in, your talent will shine through’, and that’s what’s happened the last couple of weeks.”

South wouldn’t have been the only ones celebrating Saturday night’s win, though — its main adversary would have enjoyed the sight as well.

With the chance to go six points clear of Eaglehawk at the top, Tatura took Strathdale to task on a clear Sunday afternoon at Howley Oval.

The ladder-leader was, as has become the standard this year, simply ruthless from the outset as Fraser Gosstray’s bag of four made him the first to a double-digit goal tally this season in an eventual 9-0 demolition.

Shepparton kept the good times coming even in the absence of several key personnel after last week’s drought-breaking win, with a late winner coming from 81st-minute substitute Abdal Al Hashoush in a 1-0 triumph over Spring Gully.

There was finally some relief to be found for Epsom earlier on Saturday, though, with a breakthrough win as Logan Hromenko’s double sealed a come-from-behind 4-2 win over Shepparton United, with the boys in blue consigned to last place ahead of the bye.

Tatura’s senior men had to settle for the second-largest victory margin across the two top leagues, though, with the Spring Gully women extending their own perfect record by eviscerating Kyneton Districts 10-0.

Shepparton United moved a game clear of Strathsfieldsaye after knocking over the Colts 3-1 in a grand final rematch, while Tatura and Eaglehawk notched their second wins of the season to put a buffer up on the bottom two.