IF the Victorian Premier League title race comes down to two points, Oakleigh Cannons will rue their 2-2 draw with winless Springvale White Eagles at Jack Edwards reserve on Friday night.
The Cannons twice took the lead via the boot of midfielder Frank Lagana but each time lost concentration and allowed the White Eagles to score counterattacking goals.
After the Cannons dominated the early going the White Eagles allowed the home side to interchange passes on the edge of the box before Lagana’s deflected shot curled into the top left corner of the goal to give the home side a half-time lead.
But early in the second half the White Eagles sent a low cross in from the right that found newly recruited striker Milos Lujic at the near post.
Lujic sent a neat shot past Cannons keeper Peter Zois and inside the left post. There was suspicion a sliding Cannons right-back RamazanTavsancioglu may have got the last touch on the ball but Lujic was awarded the goal.
But the White Eagles didn’t last long on level terms when Lagana notched up a fortunate double as his lofted free kick from just past halfway on the left wing flew over the pack of players and the keeper, bouncing into the net to make it 2-1.
With that sort of luck the Cannons looked likely to take hold of the match with the tempo building and veteran striker Ricky Diaco and midfielder Bill Damianos coming on as substitutes.
But the White Eagles absorbed the pressure and managed to make their own forays into attack, especially down their right flank.
The second equaliser came from a set piece with corner-kick pass swinging straight out to Zoran Vukas, who curved a perfectly timed shot around the right post to make it 2-2.
The White Eagles could have snared all three points late on when they created a three-on-two counterattack down the right wing.
A low cross fell perfectly to star striker Goran Zoric at the top of the keeper’s box but he failed to make strong contact with the ball and the shot fell into Zois’ hands
