By JOSIP ZILIC
The battle for promotion positions in NPL2 West has taken on another level of tension with the top four sides now separated by four points with five rounds to go.
North Geelong has added to the pressure and excitement by creating further congestion, taking down league leader Whittlesea Ranges 3-0 away last Saturday.
This week the Warriors take another road trip, this time to Springvale to take on the White Eagles.
Springvale come off 3-0 victory themselves after putting away cellar-dweller Nunawading at home.
It’s the White Eagles second 3-0 win in a row with Damir Stoilovic and Isaiah Joseph their danger men in those contests, scoring a goal apiece in both wins.
However for North Geelong the man of the moment last week was American import Kene Eze who tore apart the Ranges defence and scoring a hat-trick in the process.
The Warriors put Whittlesea on the back foot early on, when only after four minutes Eze chipped an oncoming Luke Gallo for the opener after receiving a pin point pass from Juso Julardzija.
On 26 minutes Michael Anderson’s cross after a good combination of play was well finished by Eze to give the Warrior’s the two goal buffer and that’s how it stood for the half.
From the restart the Warriors continued their pressing and two minutes in Eze’s solo effort was rewarded after he opened up the defence up and rounded his finish past the keeper net his first triple on Australian shores.
North Geelong’s defence deserves equal plaudits though proving organised and too strong throughout the match with Whittlesea not being able to have a crack on target all second half.
This coming weekend is a crossover week where the West conference meets the East, with all top four sides playing tricky opponents, we could be seeing new leaders come Sunday night.
