By Josip Zilic
The tough task of North Geelong Warriors getting themselves out of the relegation spots just got tougher, after a 2-0 defeat to forget at home against Kingston.
Their next challenge is Bulleen Lions away on Saturday afternoon. The Lions have steadied their form recently – after three defeats on the trot they have had a win, and a draw to Green Gully.
Bulleen have dipped into the transfer market with Pablo Caceres, Lewis Hawke and Lewis Italiano, a talented keeper from Wellington Phoenix, all having immediate impacts for their new side.
North Geelong’s afternoon started sluggishly and they were lucky to not be down by three goals in the opening 15 minutes, with Kingston creating numerous goal-scoring opportunities for Damian Laconis and Chris Irwin, only to be wasteful early on.
The home side were unable to lift their tempo, scrappy in possession, allowing numerous turnovers in the middle of park and unable to find their range with wayward final balls and shots.
Right before half time, the Warriors allowed a turnover that hurt them on the scoreboard.
Matt Thorne and Andrew Doig turned to the referee to look for a foul instead of picking up an easy possession, allowing Irwin to take take the ball to their goal.
Marko Stevanja saved Irwin’s first attempt only for Irwin to shoot the ball back at him to finish off the goal.
The start of the second half wasn’t any brighter for the Warriors, who were showing signs of frustration. That frustration grew further at 55 minutes when Laconis latched onto a ball on the edge of the box with the outside of his left foot, finishing past Stevanja.
Micky Colina made changes to try and create some spark by introducing Kene Eze and Bobby Vidanoski, who gave them much-needed drive. But the quality of their finishes was not enough to impact the scoreboard.
Opportunities getting slimmer for the Warriors, who will need a jolt to both output and teamwork to escape the relegation spots.
