The National Premier League’s first two promoted clubs – North Geelong Warriors and Avondale – face off at Elcho Park on Saturday for a springboard away from the tail end of the ladder.
North Geelong is fighting to stop goal leaks after copping 12 in the past three games, while Avondale has also suffered a series of defeats but without the free scoring.
North Geelong had been finding the net until last round when it copped a 4-0 wake-up call at the hands of Port Melbourne.
North’s opening few minutes were promising as Reardo Luka came close with a dangerous volley but it didn’t last long. Port was first to the ball, capitalising on some poor decisions in the Warriors defence for Trent Rixon to open the scoring on 13 minutes with a delightful left-foot finish.
Moments later Warriors skipper Matthew Townley almost ignited his team’s fortunes with a driving volley that was cleared off the line.
In the closing stages of the first half Rixon was on hand again to put the score at 2-0 when he finished a well-built-up move on 38 minutes.
Things went from poor to worse for the Warriors five minutes into the second half when Ryan Opperman finished off an Alan Kearney through-ball to slot into goals.
North Geelong tried to inject some pace and width by introducing Michael Anderson, Nicholas Jurcic and Tomo Trbuhovic who broke the lines and held possession for longer patches but the scores were never threatened.
The match was effectively over when Kearney converted a late penalty.
Warriors coach Micky Colina paid respect to the opposition after the match, highlighting Port’s quality.
“All credit to Port Melbourne, they’re a good side and didn’t let us do a great deal. In the end we showed our inexperience at this level and didn’t do enough to fight back,” Colina said.
“We need some players to stand up and take accountability on the park and show who will fight for our club to stay in this competition”
