EAGLES CLIPPED
CORIO played out a dull 0-0 draw with Hoppers Crossing in their top-of-the-table clash at Hume Reserve on Saturday.
The draw has not done the second-placed Eagles any favours as Epping City, Albion Rovers, Fitzroy City and Westgate are snapping at their heels.
Built up as Corio’s biggest game in three years, the Eagles did lot of the early attacking with Hoppers resolute in defence.
Likewise, whenever Hoppers went into attack, the Corio defence, marshalled well by captain Jackson Davis and Canadian import Turin Hutchings, was equal to the task.
Up the other end, Englishman Curtis Bateson was starting to see more of the ball and was looking dangerous.
The first real shot on goal came in the 27th minute with a speculative long-range effort by fellow English import M.J. Monaghan, which went well over the target.
Two minutes later, Corio suffered when arguably the best player on the park, Darcy Rapa, hurt his shoulder as he crashed to the ground following an unfortunate tackle. He was forced from the pitch, with an ambulance taking him to Geelong hospital.
It was later ascertained he had torn his shoulder AC joint and will miss the remainder of the season and likely need a full shoulder reconstruction.
In the second half, it was much the same with both sides having a series of half-chances rather than anything clear cut, although Corio keeper Tom Banks was called on in several heart-stopping moments towards the end of the game.
Josh Talev, who returned to the Eagles squad after missing last week’s derby win over Geelong Rangers through injury, came on in the 62nd minute to inject some firepower up front. Attacking utility Jasko Ikanovic was also brought on in the 75th minute but the scores remained locked at 0-0 until the final whistle.
Corio coach Ante Didulica was disappointed, but said it was a “fair result”.
“We had chances, they had chances but nothing really clear cut,” Didulica said.
“It was a case of two points lost rather than one point gained.
“I say that, because the first time we played them we were leading 2-1 and we let that one slip and we lost two points there. But today was a different case, today it was a fair result overall.”
Corio turns its attention to this weekend’s catch-up game against Mill Park.
A win will allow it to draw level with Hoppers Crossing with four games remaining.