Point Cook showed no mercy in a 6-1 slaughter of the Western Eagles in the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 4 at Saltwater Reserve on Saturday.
With his side leading 3-0 at half-time, Jets coach Craig Filer implored his players to rub more salt into the Eagles’ wounds.
They responded with another three-goal half to give their goal difference a handy early boost.
“We came out of the gates firing and they couldn’t cope with the speed and tenacity of the players,” Filer said.
Filer’s insistence that Point Cook pile on the pain in the second half was borne out of the bittersweet experience from the week before.
The Jets produced their best and their worst in 90 minutes against Surf Coast seven days earlier and Filer did not want a repeat of a two-faced showing in which his side trailed by two goals at half-time before fighting back to draw 2-2.
“We were bitterly disappointed with the first half last week at Surf Coast,” Filer said.
“We started very slowly and found ourselves 2-0 down at half-time. But the second half was probably the best half of football I’ve seen from us in the two and a half years that I’ve been at Point Cook.”
Point Cook took that game’s second-half momentum into the second round, producing a near-flawless performance at the expense of the Eagles.
The Jets had five different goalscorers, including two for surprise packet Ellis Davies.
Davies had not been slated to start the match, but was moved into the line-up after James Varsamakis suffered a training knock.
Davies, brought in from Altona East Phoenix, not only found the back of the net twice, but also had two assists.
“As I’ve said to everybody in the team, if you get your opportunity, you’ve got to take them,” Filer said.
“Ellis wasn’t starting yesterday, but there was an injury before kick-off, so I promoted him to the starting XI and he goes and scores two goals and set up two, and made it very difficult for me to leave him out of the side now.”
Zac Osborne capped another impressive game for Point Cook with a goal.
Osborne has scored three times in two games, but it is his work away from the goal that has impressed his coach.
“He’s very much one of those players that does a lot of hard work and ground work for others,” Filer said.
Point Cook, third on the ladder with four of a possible six points, will travel to struggling Melton Phoenix, a side without a point, on Saturday.
But Filer is fully aware the Jets tend to struggle at Melton, so his side won’t be taking it easy.
“Melton is a bit of a bogey ground for us,” he said.
“It’s never a good place to go and play – it’s quite a hostile atmosphere, a big facility.”
Meanwhile, Truganina Hornets lost 3-1 to Sebastopol Vikings in their season opener.
The Hornets will host Balmoral in their home opener at Arndell Park Reserve on Saturday night.
In state league 2, Hoppers Crossing enjoyed another goal difference-boosting win, this time a 4-0 hammering of Westvale at McKechnie Reserve. Liam McDermott scored a double for the Reds, who scored three times in the second half.
The top-of-the-ladder Reds will host second-placed Hume United in a blockbuster at Grange Reserve on Saturday.
In NPL2, Werribee City’s two-game win streak – one in the league and the other in the FFA Cup – came to an end in a 2-0 loss to Murray United at Savoy Park.
The Bees fell back to second-last on the ladder ahead of a daunting road trip to runaway ladder leader Northcote City on Saturday.
