Murray United's under-18s turned on the style to beat table-topping Pascoe Vale in a nine-goal thriller on Sunday.
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United came from behind to lead 3-1 at La Trobe before seeing their advantage wiped out late in an action-packed first half.
Having got their noses back in front after the break, Murray were pegged back once again with 16 minutes left only to snatch a dramatic late winner.
Dirck Angalikiyana capped a virtuoso display with a hat-trick and Murray coach Eddie Waslander was thrilled to emerge victorious.
"I always knew it was going to be a tough game," Waslander said.
"We created some really good chances to start with and could have been 2-0 up after five minutes but from one counter-attack, one chance, they scored and I thought 'here we go.'
"But in the space of 20 minutes, Dirck turned it on and bamboozled their defenders.
![Dirck Angalikiyana scored a hat-trick in Murray's 5-4 win over Pascoe Vale. Dirck Angalikiyana scored a hat-trick in Murray's 5-4 win over Pascoe Vale.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/a79ee23d-70aa-4644-89fe-9cd3aa543092.JPG/r1907_1000_5320_3293_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"He was amazing, he was so good, and we scored three goals in 15 minutes.
"But we made two errors in defence, gave away a penalty and they took a half-chance so instead of being comfortable at 3-1 at half-time, we were 3-3."
Waslander asked his players to find the same sort of intensity after the break and they duly responded.
"They're a big team but we're stronger with the ball at our feet," he said.
"The boys in midfield - Noah, Jacob and Sushan - were fantastic, they dominated and co-ordinated the attacks.
"We had Jono (Hassan) play up from the 16s and alongside Justin (Lukozi) and Dirck, all three of them were firing up front.
"You want creativity and flair and those three players give you that in spades."
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Having lost their first eight games in NPL3 North-West, Murray have now won five of their last eight and sit ninth on the ladder with six games remaining.
"The players have got a lot of character," Waslander said.
"They work hard, they fight for the ball and they didn't give up on Sunday.
"I would have been satisfied with a draw but Dirck ran the ball all the way down to the byline, squared the ball up to Justin and in the end, the defender scored an own goal.
"They showed a lot of spirit; to play 90 minutes at a high level is hard work.
"We've only lost two out of our last eight and to knock over the top sides shows a lot of character.
"There's a lot of belief in the group that they can succeed if they put the effort in."
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