Round 18: Geelong Rangers (1) v North Geelong (2)
Courtesy: The Geelong Advertiser
NORTH Geelong Warriors took a step closer to promotion with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Geelong Rangers in a pulsating derby contest.
Two superbly taken strikes from veteran forward Adrian Cervinski claimed the points for the Warriors but, in truth, the result was bitterly harsh on relegation-threatened Rangers.
The home side dominated long spells of the match and spent almost the entire second half camped in Warriors’ half.
However, for the second time this season, the Rangers were unable to turn their dominance over Warriors into goals, with the visitors’ ability to grind out the result underlining why they are top of the ladder.
The match, played in glorious conditions in front of a sizeable crowd, got off to an explosive start, with two goals in the opening seven minutes.
Cervinski put the Warriors into the lead with a trademark free-kick but, just seconds after the re-start, Troy Hardy rounded off a slick passing move to slot the ball past Daniel Zilic in the Warriors’ goal.
Despite the swift equaliser, the Warriors started to impose their slower tempo passing game on the more direct and energetic Rangers, with the movement of Marko Kuna and Matthew Demo causing the Rangers’ defence problems.
In the 20th minute, the Warriors re-took the lead, with Tom Gavran’s cross finding Cervinski unmarked at the far post. The striker appeared to slip as he received the ball, but he recovered to lift the ball over the advancing Lyndon Malesic.
From then on, however, the Rangers took almost complete control of the game. Another swift equaliser was snuffed out by Zilic, as he palmed Daniel Earley’s shot around the post after a deft one-two with James Blackburn.
Earley then fired a long-range effort over the bar as the Rangers poured forward in search of the equaliser.
The second half followed much the same pattern, with the Rangers pinning back the Warriors, but not finding the cutting edge to draw level again.
Although Kuna and Demo were often isolated up front, the duo were dangerous on the break. Demo, who was shadowed everywhere by Dave Ellis, momentarily wriggled free of the attention, only for his shot to be blocked by Malesic’s legs.
Hardy was then handed the best chance of the match to score after being put clean through by the impressive Earley. However, the big striker’s first touch let him down, allowing Zilic to smother the opportunity.
The Rangers began to throw caution to the wind, with Scott Davidson increasingly pumping long balls into the box in search of the breakthrough.
The tactic nearly paid off with just two minutes left on the clock, with Davidson’s ball dropped by Zilic when under pressure from Blackburn. Hardy was left with a tricky half volley into the unguarded net, but his shot was blocked by the retreating Jonathan Davey.
The effort proved to be the last chance for the Rangers, which now have four games in which to stave off relegation. The Warriors, meanwhile, have stretched their lead at the top to three points.
“The game was gut-wrenching, the cruellest imaginable,” a visibly disappointed Rangers coach Robbie Noggler said.
“We did more than enough to win the game and shown that league position means nothing. You just want the ball to bounce your way.”
Warriors coach Vinko Buljubasic said: “It could’ve gone either way, both sides were looking for a goal. I was disappointed that we dropped off and allowed them back into the game.
“It was a tough game. Rangers are a good football side and I’m surprised at where they are in the league.”
