North Geelong take on a high flying Kingston away on Saturday in this week’s NPL2 action.
The undefeated Kingston has won all their matches so far and most recently took down Melbourne City 2-0, which will no doubt fire a warning to North Geelong to be prepared for a big match, especially with in-form striker Velibor Mitrovic on fire with five goals so far this season.
The Warriors will have an air of confidence though, coming off a three match spell with resounding success most recently last weekend’s 2-0 win over Goulburn Valley.
A dour first half saw the Warriors unable to combine well enough to leverage an opening goal despite being a man up after 30 minutes when Salawat Al Lafta was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Nicholas Jurcic.
Sensing the team needed a change, coach Micky Colina made two changes at half time, bringing in Vito Cichello returning from injury and Kene Eze for his first senior league appearance.
The changes brought about an immediate impact, with Cichello and Michael Simms creating better in the middle and working openings with quicker ball movement.
On 58 minutes, Eze zoomed past his marker and found Michael Anderson in the box to dispatch his fifth goal of the year, and lift the mood at Elcho Park.
It wasn’t all one way though, and Goulburn Valley gave the Warriors a scare when Anthony Giannopoulos tried to chip keeper Daniel Zilic and narrowly missed.
The Warriors momentum was too strong now, and on 81 minutes Eze received a well weighted ball from Matt Thorne on the right flank and eased past his defender and finished with precision past Kile Kennedy for the 2-0 win.
Colina was happy with the side’s win, but more so relieved that they were able to lift the tempo and take their opponents out of the match.
“We could have been sharper, but no complaints,” Colina summed up.
