When it comes to winning soccer games Ballarat showed at the weekend that sometimes it's better to let the opposition do the work for you.
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In a game where goals were hard to come by, the Reds scored in the most unlikeliest of ways on Saturday to clinch a victory over higher-placed Barnstoneworth in the Football Victoria state league five west competition.
After a well-placed ball from Luke Swards put his opponent in two-minds late in the first half, Reds coach Jamie Winton knew a scoring opportunity was in sight. But he didn't expect what came next.
"The defender tried to clear it and put it in the back of his own net," he said following the match.
The own goal proved to be all Ballarat needed as it went on to win the game 1-0.
Despite a furious attempt for a late equaliser, the Reds' defence held-off the onslaught, largely due to the efforts of Jake Romein who played his best game of the season in the back-line.
"He's just very strong, he's a big lad and he was strong in the air all day as well as on the ground. They couldn't get anything past him," Winton said.
The win elevates Ballarat into second spot on the ladder after sitting in fourth prior to the match.
It relieves some pressure off the club which had entered the contest having lost two of its last three contests.
Winton described the victory as their most impressive this season.
"If you really want to be a top side you've got to knock off the teams above you," Winton said.
"What this win gives the team is belief that we are one of the better sides in the league."
Ballarat entered Satruday's contest on the back of news that replacement goalkeeper Jesse Lloyd would miss the rest of the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
The team will also be without Liam Haintz for the next several weeks after he re-injured his ankle in last week's loss to Melton Phoenix.
Winton said the team would not find replacements for the injured players, but would instead "string out the players they've got."
"I'm a big believer in stability, and trying to keep the same guys on the park week in and week out is important, so we strive as much as we can to stick with that as opposed to bringing in too many new faces."
Ballarat will play Maidstone United this week at home.
