By JOSIP ZILIC
The halfway mark of the NPL2 West competition has arrived and for North Geelong it paints an interesting picture.
Sitting on top of the ladder is just reward for the Warriors, who have licked off the wounds from relegation and largely re-invigorated themselves.
Tight defensive work combined with a vast scorer list makes for good reading. However the chasing pack has also stepped up the pressure and closing in, looking to make the second stanza of the year and grand stand finish.
This week the Warriors play host to sister club St Albans Saints. Their last encounter ended in a 1-1 draw, a result neither side would accept at this point of the year.
St Albans is coming off a grinding 1-2 loss to fellow promotion aspirant Whittlesea where skipper Ryan McGuffie got on the scoresheet to make for an exciting end to the match.
North Geelong came away from their weekend home clash against Ballarat with a fortunate 1-1 draw.
There were plenty of good signs from the Warriors’ young attacking trio of Nicholas Jurcic, Anthony Banovac and Ante Kozul, who have all been introduced to the starting line-up due to injury, suspension and absences.
In the first half, the young forwards toiled well but were too often isolated and without the support of the midfield trio, which provided opportunities for Ballarat to control the tempo on the counter and combine well in their build up.
Despite some half chances either way the sides went into the sheds with the score at 0-0 at the break.
The Warriors improved in the second half as the midfield worked closer with it’s forwards and began to lever back some control.
The reward came in the 68th minute when Vito Cichello met the end of some slick build up work to pounce on a ball on the edge of the box to slam home for the lead.
However, rather than build on the lead the Warriors eased off, sitting very deep, inviting Ballarat to goal, which is exactly what occurred in the 80th minute when Michael Trigger got on the end of a well weighted pass in the box to smash past Daniel Zilic for the leveller.
With a returning trio of Matt Thorne, Michael Anderson and Kene Eze it will be interesting to see how coach Micky Colina addresses the lull in performance for the weekend’s blockbuster.
