SAWTELL Scorpions celebrated a last-gasp winning goal to defeat Southern United in emphatic style last Saturday in the Coastal Premier League (CPL).

Duncan Couper opened the scoring for the Scorpions which was quickly cancelled out by a goal from Southern United.

With the match on a knife edge at 1-1 deep into the second half Hugo Alderman put Sawtell ahead and into a match-winning position.

Sawtell have been in match winning positions and conceded the lead in the last ten minutes on several occasions and history seemed to be repeating as the celebrations were short lived when Southern United equalised with ten minutes to go.

With only minutes left on the clock, the Scorpions poured forward in search of the three points and it was central defender Karl De Groot who guided the ball into the top corner to the elation of the home supporters.

It was a precious three points for Joe Skyrtic’s men.

“It was a game we knew we needed to win,” he said.

“The boys showed great character against a very tough Southern United team to win 3-2.

“We absorbed a lot of pressure at the back and I thought we gave away the ball too many times and made it very hard for ourselves.

“We had more confidence in the second half and that was where we started to find the back of the net.”

In a congested CPL table, the win elevates Sawtell into fourth place on the ladder.

However they have several teams breathing down their necks who have games in hand due to postponed matches from waterlogged pitches.

By David WIGLEY