South Melbourne finish OFC Pro League Leaders Group unbeaten

South Melbourne FC completed an unbeaten OFC Pro League Leaders Group run aft defeating Bula FC 4-2 astatine Eden Park, gathering momentum up of adjacent week’s semi-finals.

Having already secured progression to the knockout stage, South Melbourne entered the contention with little unit than their Fijian opponents, who still had a accidental to bypass the semi-final playoff and beforehand straight to the last four.

Head manager Sinisa Cohadzic rotated heavily, making six changes to the starting side, while Bula FC made 7 alterations of their own.

One of South Melbourne’s returning faces, Jack Pope, made an contiguous impact.

The guardant opened the scoring successful the 13th infinitesimal aft Didier Desprez misjudged a done ball, allowing Pope to decorativeness smartly from a choky angle.

Bula responded rapidly done Ibraheem Afazal, who rounded goalkeeper Javier Diaz Lopez aft Christopher Wasasala threaded a clever walk done a crowded midfield to level the scores six minutes later.

Despite Bula showing encouraging signs under manager Stéphane Auvray, South Melbourne gradually took power of the archetypal fractional and struck twice successful speedy succession earlier the break.

A VAR reappraisal awarded the Australian broadside a punishment successful the 34th infinitesimal aft Jacob Eliopoulos was brought down wrong the box. Max Mikkola converted from the spot to reconstruct the lead.

Just two minutes later, Andrew Mesourouni extended the vantage with a composed volley, giving South Melbourne a commanding 3-1 pb heading into half-time.

Both sides shuffled their line-ups aft the restart, with South Melbourne introducing three substitutes and Bula four.

The Fijian broadside emerged strongly successful the 2nd fractional and applied sustained unit arsenic they searched for a way backmost into the contest. However, South Melbourne’s prime again proved decisive.

Jordon Lampard efficaciously sealed the effect with a superb decorativeness from the borderline of the country aft being acceptable up by substitute Marco Jankovic, making it 4-1.

South Melbourne continued to make chances, lone to beryllium denied repeatedly by an inspired Desprez successful extremity for Bula.

Veteran striker Roy Krishna was introduced to spark Bula’s onslaught and astir scored immediately, rattling the crossbar with a almighty strike from a constrictive angle.

Krishna would yet get his goal, reacting quickest aft Nabil Begg’s effort was saved to tap location from adjacent scope and trim the shortage to 4-2.

South Melbourne comfortably saw retired the contention to stay unbeaten successful the radical and caput into the semi-finals afloat of confidence.