By Jospi Zilic
North Geelong Warriors takes on Dandenong Thunder at Port Melbourne’s JL Murphy Reserve this weekend for a shot at the final playoff against NPL1 third-last finisher Richmond.
Dandenong worked hard for a 2-0 win last week against Springvale and could have claimed the NPL2 East Championship and automatic promotion if not for Kingston’s last-minute equaliser at Brunswick.
Dandenong coach Hus Skenderovic will have his side primed for the occasion, with danger man Brandon Barnes finding the target again last week.
North Geelong also had its hands full last weekend while battling to a 2-1 win at Ballarat.
The young Ballarat outfit had the lion’s share of proceedings early but wayward shots and Daniel Zilic’s good keeping prevented the Red Devils being well ahead inside the first 20 minutes.
The Warriors clawed their way back, with Nicholas Jurcic returning to scoring form on 27 minutes when he overlapped Kene Eze to drive in the opener from the edge of the box.
Ballarat stepped up the tempo when danger man Michael Trigger unleashed a spectacular effort from range on 55 minutes, beating Zilic and levelling the scores.
However, the Warriors sealed the win seven minutes later as Juso Julardzija found the net with a well-worked ball from Michael Anderson.
“It’s important to come away with a win like this today in this finals-type atmosphere,” coach Micky Colina said.
“It’s exactly what is needed for the game to come and hopefully beyond. Our fans again were brilliant coming to Ballarat to spur the team on, best fans in the league”.
Saturday’s match begins 6pm.
In women’s soccer, Geelong’s Galaxy earned respect for its grand final performance against favourite Calder United in the inaugural WNPL Final at ABD Stadium last Saturday.
Starting from zero and building a club from the base up is no mean feat on its own, let alone with the responsibility of competing at the peak of the competition’s structure.
Galaxy took control early in the grand final with driving build-ups from player of the match Annabel Martin.
Galaxy was rewarded for its dominance when Kariah White received a Martin through-ball, which she lifted for Caitlyn Pickett to head neatly on 32 minutes.
But on 57 minutes a free kick outside the area floated into the goalmouth but Galaxy keeper Kelsey Quinn looked to mishandle it and Kasha Meyer tapped it over the line.
Galaxy finished the half with three open attempts blazing high and wide.
In the second half, Galaxy paid for inaccuracy when Enza Barilla swooped on a cross from the opposite flank to place the shot past Quinn.
Galaxy ran through the changes and finished strongly, but its efforts weren’t rewarded.
Coach Vince Ierardo was proud of his side’s performance after the game and acknowledging the impact the travelling supporters made to the cause.
