SOCCER WRAP | City's last gasp stunner, Women start with a bang

Ballarat City's men have picked up their first win on the road for season 2024 with a last kick strike from Xagal Dhouhajl after a thrilling encounter against Geelong.

Nothing could separate the two teams throughout an engrossing contest until Dhouhajl finally found the opening right at the death of the contest with what would turn out to be the last kick of the game.

The win is Ballarat City's third from four starts in State League and leaves them just one point off the top of the ladder, with a third successive away clash against Whittlesea the next up for the young team.

Ballarat City coach playing coach Michael Trigger was full of praise for his team's will to never give up.

"It was a 94^th minute, literally last kick of the game," he said. "Dhouhajl came on late in the second half. He got a play through from Nelson Salvatore, a little play through and went one-on-one with the keeper.

"The keeper initially made a decent save, but the ball was bobbling around in the box and he was able to slide it home from point blank range.

"It was a play that came all the way from the back which was really pleasing."

Trigger said despite the lack of goals for the majority of the game, it was a terrific game to be a part of.

"It was a good spectacle," he said. "It would have been good for watching, it was a really high quality game of football.

"They matched up really well against us as we did against them which made for a good game. We both had ebbs and flows where each team was on top, but I have to say, i thought the last 15 to 20 minutes we were probably a bit superior with our level of fitness and allowed us to take control of the game.

"It showed great character to go all the way and literally score with the last kick of the game."

Trigger said a road win would do wonders for the team's confidence going forward.

"There's a lot of positives for us to take," he said. "The first one is winning away from home is a massive positive for us, keeping a clean sheet is always a positive and winning right at the death breeds confidence into your team as well, we couldn't have asked for a much better day in the end."

Ballarat City 2 def Brunswick 1

It was the pitch perfect start into a new competition for Ballarat City women, coming from a goal down to defeat Brunswick Zebras in the opening round of State League 1 on Sunday night.

After going a goal down in the 13^th minute, new strike Lisie Dodds managed to get one back in the 23^rd minutes from a long strike, before she set up the second goal just before half time which was tapped in by Ella Winfield who slotted the go-ahead goal in the 41^st minute.

Coach Tessa Patrikeos said to pick up a win on the road in the first game back at State League 1 was the perfect result.

"It was a great result, it was very tight, but we got the job done in the end," she said.

"The keeper was very tall, very good, so we did well to get two past her."

Patrikeos said she was thrilled that her team had held off a charging home side in the second half,

"They towards the end got on top and attacked," she said. "They really threw everything at us, we were under the pump there definitely, but we were able to hold them off."

Patrikeos said it was a great fillip for the team's confidence.

"One thing is winning at home, but absolutely to win on the road in our first game back at State League 1, it gives us such a great confidence to move through now," she said.

"You always want to start off with a positive, so to get the three points is awesome for our confidence."

Sebastopol Vikings 1 def by Altona North 5

The Sebastopol Vikings have suffered their first defeat of the State League 3 season, no match for Altona North in a one-way showing on Saturday.

On their first away game of the season, the Vikings were unable to hold back the tide of the strong Altona attack, going down 5-1 and in the process, losing their goal difference hard earned after picking up seven of nine points in the opening three games of the season.

The loss pushes the Vikings down to fourth on the ladder, but they do return home this weekend in what looks to be blockbuster match-up with top-team Laverton.

Ballarat SC 0 def by Gisborne 3

Ballarat SC has been unable to build on its first win of the State League 5 season, going down to Gisborne 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.

It was a comprehensive display from the home side who scored twice in the opening half, before nailing the coffin shut in the second half to score a strong win. Gisborne's Tyson Lopez scoring twice in the victory.

Ballarat will need to find its best form in coming weeks having slipped to 1-3 on the season and worryingly a -10 goal difference.

This weekend, Ballarat is at home to ETA Buffalo Club of Victoria, the team that sits just one place ahead of it on the ladder.

Victoria Park has opened up the new Ballarat District Soccer season in style with a 3-1 win of Daylesford and Hepburn United in the clash at Morshead Park on Sunday.

It was a hat-trick to Noah Brash that led Victoria Park to a confidence boosting win after a disappointing campaign in 2023. Brash scored twice in the first half as Victoria Park opened up a 2-0 lead at the break.

Sean Ludeke got one back for Daylesford and Hepburn United before Brash put the finishing touches on the contest.

In other division one games, Forest Rangers were incredibly impressive in a 7-1 win over Bacchus Marsh while Ballarat North United also took out an opening round win over Maryborough as did Vikings, defeating Ballarat SC 2-1

In the women's competition, it was an impressive victory to Ballarat North United with a dominant 5-0 win over Creswick with Jade Duve scoring twice for the winners.

Friday night's clash between Vikings and Creswick ended in a 2-2 draw while Forest Rangers was an impressive 5-1 winner over Ballarat SC