Golden opportunity slips
Plains still waiting for maiden win
fering a sickening head injury in the curtain raiser.
His replacement, back-up goalkeeper Kyriakos Gerohristodoulou, was originally slated to partner striker Jake Krilcic up front in an attacking role.
If ever there was going to be a day for the Eagles to carve out their first win of the season, it was going to be against second-last Balmoral, who had only managed a draw in its opening five games.
Defender Isaac Padula almost gifted the small band of home supporters who braved the icy conditions an early goal after just five minutes. But his screaming pile-driver from 25m only skimmed the crossbar as it flew over the target.
As the mid-point of the opening stanza approached, Balmoral peppered Gerohristodoulou’s goals and it seemed only a matter of time before the visitors would take the lead.
The inevitable occurred in GEELONG Rangers coach Stuart Begg was left frustrated after his side conceded a soft goal at home in a 1-0 loss to Hume United, to leave them precariously close the State League 2 relegation zone.
Begg described the goal, the 24th minute when Husmir Ikanovic launched a grasscutter that whistled past the outstretched hands of the Plains custodian into the back of the net.
On 32 minutes, however, the home side fought back when Krilcic found himself on the end of a perfectly placed cross and his simple tap-in restored parity.
Playing into a strong wind in the second half, Golden Plains fought valiantly to find the second goal but to no avail.
As the game wore on, both sides started to grow increasingly frustrated at not being able to stamp their authority.
Simple mistakes became the norm and the match deteriorated as a spectacle, so it was a relief when referee Mal Bosnjak signalled the end to what had been a relatively dull affair between two of the league’s strugglers.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Eagles, as coach Daniel Cuccinotta said the side was playing better with each game as it slowly closes in on its first win of the season.
“We started off well and even early in the second half we were looking all right. But once that fatigue hit, in that last 10 minutes, you could see they were pushing but they just couldn’t do it,” he said.
“The boys haven’t had the best pre-season and it has shown in our early games. We’re taking that half a step forward each week and if they can get a bit of run in their legs, the second half of the season will be a lot better for us.”