STILL ON TOP AFTER DRAW
GEELONG was held to a scoreless draw in a hardfought and evenly contested State League 1 Lions Club derby against Preston Lions at Stead Park on Saturday night.
Nonetheless, it was enough for the Red and Blacks to retain top spot on the ladder after secondplaced North Sunshine Eagles and third-placed Keilor Park were likewise involved in stalemates against Banyule City and Hoppers Crossing respectively.
Geelong had more than 60 per cent of the possession for most of the contest, but was unable to penetrate a well organised and disciplined Preston defensive unit.
There were not too many clear-cut scoring opportunities at either end during the opening stanza and scores were locked at 0-0 going into the break. It was much of the same in the second period, but the home side’s perseverance was almost rewarded twice during the closing 20 minutes.
In one instance, attacker Harry Hillary-Jenkins almost found the opener when the action broke down the righthand side and Hillary-Jenkins’ resulting shot sailed over the crossbar.
Moments later, English import Dan Hattersley had a late chance to score the winner, but his shot went wide of the left upright, condemning the outcome of the match to a stalemate.
Kevin Martin also had a seemingly goalbound shot spectacularly saved by the Preston custodian, while nimble Japanese attacker Takanori Nishimoto missed with a header, then followed it up seconds later with a shot that was skyed over the target.
After the game, Geelong coach Dominic Barba was pleased with his team’s effort, saying there was still a long way to go.
“We are a work in progress. Today’s performance was evidence of that but we are certainly right on track to where we want to be,” he said.
“We have had quite a difficult time behind the scenes over the past eight weeks since I took over. We have had quite a few
injuries, illnesses and departures.
“Having said that, we are nearly halfway through the season and clear on top by one point. We are priming ourselves to have a significant influence in the pursuit of the league title in the second half of the season.”
Following this weekend’s mid-season break due to the Queen’s Birthday holiday, Geelong will hit the road the following Saturday to take on fifth-placed Sydenham
Park.