By Josip Zilic
NORTH Geelong Warriors must tread wearily this Saturday against Whittlesea Ranges to maintain their promotion charge in National Premier League.
Whittlesea will be buoyed after defeating Richmond 4-3 thanks to Tomo Trbuhovic nodding in from six yards in the last minute.
But the Warriors’ good form continued in a top-of-the-table clash with Avondale, which resulted in an emphatic 3-0 win.
The conditions and size of the Avondale pitch were unconducive to fluid football, setting the scene for an intense match that threatened to boil over at times.
The Warriors hit the lead in the sixth minute when Juso Julardzija’s long throw was met by Mark Paleka who headed it to the back post and out of John Scollo’s reach.
Avondale then pressed high on the Warriors defence and had a penalty denied when Jason Principato appeared to be bowled over in the box. North Geelong then broke away to Robbie Zardworny, brutally tackled by Dean Campelj.
The players clashed in response, with the referee handing a red card to Campelj on the back of an earlier yellow.
The Warriors pursued their attack, reaping a reward when Zadworny received a delightful through-ball from Nicholas Jurcic to beat a pair of defenders and chip over the keeper to go 2-0 up.
Avondale lifted at the start of the second half, with Bosin Georgevski and Michele Crazia forcing saves from Daniel Zilic and panicking the Warriors.
North’s Vito Cichello steadied the tempo in a run-through role to bolster the defence and switch balls through his midfield partners.
On 62 minutes the hosts blew any chance of mounting a comeback when prolific scorer Oleksiy Khrapko charged Reardo Luka, up-ending the Warriors midfielder. The referee had no option but to send Khrapko straight off the park.
Five minutes later the Warriors put the result beyond doubt when Zadworny burst down the left flank to square the ball into the six-yard box for Julardzija to net home.
Avondale’s first home loss in three years signified the solidarity among the Warriors.
Coach Micky Colina called the win “courageous”. “We stuck to our plan and remained disciplined throughout the contest – the win was our reward”.
