Werribee City was relegated from the NPL after a 2-0 loss to North Geelong Warriors on the final day of the season at Galvin Park on Sunday.
The Bees’ top-flight status evaporated on the back of two second-half Warriors goals in quick succession.
A mistake from Bees goalkeeper Frano Saric provided Warriors defender Michael Grgic with the first goal in the 55th minute.
And there was no coming back for the Bees when Gareth Richards scored the second four minutes later.
The Bees had to win to survive and finding three goals in the last 32 minutes was nigh on impossible for a side that had averaged less than a goal a game for the season.
VIEW PICTURE GALLERY/SALES FROM THIS MATCH
Bees technical director Domenico Gangemi told Star Weekly North Geelong’s first goal knocked the stuffing out of his side.
“The second half [mistake] by the keeper finished the game. Done,” he said. “In the last match against Northcote he made three beautiful saves, so you can’t blame him.
“It was an accident. He tried to come out and catch the ball and missed it. It fell on the floor and their player had all the goal in front of him.
“We lost confidence. Too much to do after that.”
The Bees had a hellish season and the fact they were still alive heading into the final round was a testament to their never-say-die attitude.
Confidence was shot to pieces after a run of 11 games yielded one point, but they somehow conjured two wins in a row prior to their meeting with North Geelong to have a fighting chance of survival.
They can be proud of their efforts to win two of their past three matches but that offers no consolation for the relegated side.
“After the 6-0 against Avondale [four weeks ago], the squad was devastated,” Gangemi said.
“I tried to motivate the players and tried a different structure on the park but there have been a lot of mistakes this year.
“You have to do things properly from the beginning. I know North Geelong has also had trouble this year, but [Warriors coach] Micky Collina had the team for three months, not three weeks.”
The Bees were reliant on youth at the back end of the season and it caught up with them.
The final dagger was the departures of Simon Zappia and Angus Martin during the week.
“We had to play the most important match with five under-20s in the first XI. We tried our best.”
The Bees will waste no time preparing for life in the second-tier NPL1.
They held a meeting on Sunday night to kick off talks about the direction the club is taking in 2016.
“We have to look forward now,” Gangemi said.
