Ashburton United were left empty handed against Monbulk on Saturday despite dominating possession for large parts of the match.

Showing great control and composure when building up from the back, Ashburton had the league leaders right where they wanted them in the early stages of the first half. Wingers Carl Nelms and Con Deftereos were used to good effect with some good passing from defensive midfielder Paul Alexopoulos, and it seemed only a matter of time before Ashburton would find the breakthrough. Monbulk, meanwhile, only pushed forward sporadically whenever Ashburton turned the ball over.

The home side suffered the loss of prolific striker James Clemson to a foot injury after fifteen minutes, however, which changed the balance somewhat. Monbulk put up more resistance and were starting to look more dangerous, and goalkeeper John Psihogios had to be called on a few times to make some important saves.

Ashburton still seemed to be the more likely team to score, spending long spells of possession in their opponent’s half. It was not to be, however, as Ashy failed to provide the strikers with scoring opportunities, while Monbulk made the most of their chances, scoring the 0-1 after 30 minutes. Monbulk continued to be put under pressure by Ashburton, resulting in half-chances to Carl Nelms and Paul Alexopoulos, but they held on for a 0-1 half time lead.

After the break the visitors started to take more initiative, with Ashburton at times shaky in defence. John Psihogios kept Ashburton in the game with some crucial saves in the first 20 minutes of the second half, but Ashburton managed to settle somewhat and push forward to find the equaliser after that. The home side could not find the right pass up front though, and the attacking mindset resulted in more space for Monbulk to counterattack. Late in the game this proved fatal for Ashburton, when Monbulk broke away and scored the deciding 0-2 to leave Ashburton empty handed.

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Meanwhile, Ashburton Reserves staged the great escape after overcoming a three-goal deficit and being reduced to ten players to draw 3-3 against Monbulk Reserves.

Stand-in goalkeeper Steve Giannitsadis was unfortunate to handle the ball outside his 18-yard box after fifteen minutes, leaving the referee no choice but to show the red card at a stage when Ashburton was matching it quite well with their opponents. The extra space this created for the visitors soon resulted in goals, meaning Ashburton found itself down 0-3 at half time.

A big defeat seemed to be on the cards, but Ashburton stepped up their discipline and effort to thwart Monbulk’s attacking endeavours and create space of their own. Michel van Eijk then delivered the first goal to the home team when his left-footed cross from the left wing was caught by the wind, sailing over the opposition goalkeeper’s head and into the far top corner. Five minutes later, Vicente Vasquez was given the ball on the opposite wing, and after slaloming his way through Monbulk’s defence he placed the ball into the far corner to bring Ashburton back into the game.

Monbulk were running out of ideas as Ashburton seemed to close every gap and cover off every forward run, and to everyone’s amazement the home side was on level terms again within the first 20 minutes of the second half when Kevin Langan pounced on an inaccurate back-pass to coolly slot home the 3-3.

Ashburton then settled, attempting to hang on for an unlikely draw. Monbulk tried to push forward, but could not find a way through Ashy’s backline, with Peter Hall, Tim Smith and Anthony Taylor in outstanding form.

Ashburton did look dangerous a few times through Nolan White and Kevin Langan, but did not find the winner. An important save in the dying moments by substitute goalkeeper Will Legge then completed Ashy’s stunning comeback to draw the game 3-3.