Ashburton managed a hard-earned draw against the Bayside Argonauts in the last home game of the season.

Sunny Ashburton Park saw most of the action confined to the midfield early on. Both teams fought hard, but struggled to create chances until the 20-minute mark, when John Psihogios produced some good goalkeeping to deny Bayside a goal.

Ashburton found some run along the wing with Adam Lambert at the end of a number of good passes along the sideline, but no real chances eventuated, meaning the score at half time remained 0-0.

After half time more space opened up as both sides started tiring, and the first team to take advantage was Bayside, when a corner was headed in to the far corner; 0-1.

Ashburton tried to press for a goal, but could not create any clear chances until substitute Mike Tyrikos turned inside the box and hit a shot on the cross-bar. The rebound fell to Nolan White, who headed the ball over.

It seemed like Ashburton was going to lose this one, but with one minute to go Alex Jackson ran the ball down the wing, and spotted Mike Tyrikos in the box who made no mistake, ensuring a draw.

Ashburton has now been unbeaten for three weeks in a row.

Ashburton’s next game is away against Keysborough at Coomoora Reserve on 27 August 2011.

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Meanwhile, Ashburton Reserves bounced back from their off-day last week to beat Bayside Argonauts Reserves 3-1.

Keen to atone for a poor showing last week, Ashburton burst out of the blocks, exposing Bayside’s lack of speed in defence. Shots by Michel van Eijk and Steve ‘Hightower’ Giannitsadis failed to trouble the goalkeeper early, but showed some intent and promise for the home fans.

The sustained pressure on Bayside’s defensive half reaped its first reward after 15 minutes, when Michel van Eijk pressured a Bayside defender into a turnover. Van Eijk burst into the 18-yard box and slotted home the 1-0 in the far corner. Soon after he could have had a second, when Steve Giannitsadis was sent deep along the flank, but his cross in got deflected just enough to stop Michel van Eijk from angling his header towards goal.

Bayside tried hard to push Ashburton back, but good defensive work from Tim Twynham and Andrew Dodds snuffed out any counter attacks. Meanwhile, the home team kept on coming. Ashy had four corner kicks in quick succession, and after a deflected ball of one of these corners was crossed back into the box, Steve Giannitsadis rose above everyone to head the 2-0 into the top corner.

Ashburton’s dominance seemed to spell doom for Bayside, who barely managed to hang on when a cracking shot from Giannitsadis was brilliantly saved by the Bayside goalie. Soon after, Nolan White went close with a shot as well, before Matt Andrews saw his long-range effort sail wide. On the stroke of half-time however, Bayside got within a goal again after a rebounded cross fell to a Bayside player on the penalty spot; 2-1 at half time.

Despite the conceded goal, Ashburton continued its pressure in the second half. With both Anthony Taylor and Nick Journeaux providing plenty of run on the wings, it seemed only a matter of time before Ashburton would run away with the game. Inaccuracy kept Bayside in the game however, with a number of chances wasted. The biggest culprit of the day was Matt Andrews – up until that point playing a solid game – who, one on one with the goalkeeper in the box, produced an effort that sailed high and wide.

As fatigue set in, Bayside found more space and even threatened to steal the game away, but Ashburton held firm at the back. Finally, with two minutes to go, Ashburton breathed a sigh of relief as a corner by Michel van Eijk found an unmarked Steve ‘Sotíras’ Giannitsadis, who headed the ball into the back of the net for a deserved 3-1 win.