Werribee City Soccer Club put up a strong showing against South Melbourne in the National Premier League before going down 1-0 on Sunday.
The Bees may have gone into the match as underdogs, but they looked far from out of place against one of the competition’s best teams.
The only blemish for Werribee came in the first half when South Melbourne eventually found a way through the club’s defences to hit the scoreboard, Milos Lujic putting the ball into the back of the net to give his side the advantage.
Werribee City spokesman Giorgio Pastorini was pleased with the way the team fought.
“The match was quite even and I thought our team played very well,” he said.
“We lacked a striker late in the game. In the last 15 minutes, we put them under pressure, but we couldn’t get the goal.
“South Melbourne is the best team in the league. We played with heart and we played at our best The result is not a disgrace.”
Werribee is in eighth spot on the National Premier League ladder with five wins for the season.
The Bees are in the middle of a congested group of six teams, with one win separating fifth from 10th.
South Melbourne remains the competition’s front runner with a perfect 10-0 record.
Pastorini is hoping Werribee can stay in the top half of the ladder deep into the season.
“This is a unique position for us, being the first year of the National Premier League,” he said. “We’re very happy to be in the middle of the ladder.”
In other National Premier League results, Green Gully defeated Hume City 3-0 and the Melbourne Knights proved too good for Port Melbourne in a 3-1 victory.
