There is nothing like a win on the road.
The longer the trip, the sweeter the win, so it was a big one for Werribee City when it beat the Goulburn Valley Suns 1-0 in the NPL2 Victoria West in Shepparton on Saturday evening.
“You can imagine the road trip home if you lose, it would be pretty disastrous,” Bees coach Sergio Sabbadini said.
“It was fantastic, a really good win.
“They really dug deep to get up.”
There was plenty of spirit in Werribee City early.
It was the Bees who created the better chances in the first half, but to no avail.
“We probably should’ve scored three goals, but we missed them all,” Sabbadini said
Werribee City was almost made to pay for their failure to take control on the scoreboard.
Goulburn Valley had a purple patch at the start of the second half and asked plenty of questions of Bees goalkeeper Tommy Dunn.
But Dunn refused to budge, ensuring the Bees would keep a clean sheet for the second time in three games.
“He’s been playing spectacularly,” Sabbadini said of his custodian.
“The first 15 minutes of the second half, they were on top and had us pinned back in our own half.”
With the threat averted, could Werribee City find a way to break the deadlock?
The answer was yes, and it came through an unlikely source in Damien Peters.
“The goal he scored was first class,” Sabbadini said.
“We had a throw from the right-hand side of the pitch, then we had a bit of a combination out wide and eventually it broke through to Damo and he hit it first time and into the top corner it went.
“He’s not renowned for scoring goals, but it was a great goal.”
Werribee City has taken seven points from its past three outings.
The upswing in form has coincided with the arrival of George Slefendorfas, who has been in red hot form in the Bees attack.
The Bees will be hoping to maintain the rage when they return home to face Whittlesea Ranges on Sunday.
The Ranges are only two spots and six points ahead of the Bees in the standings.
“We’ve got to knuckle down and produce the same sort of performances [like the Goulburn Valley game] every week,” Sabbadini said.
“We’re starting to turn it around, we’ve got a bit more quality into the team and we’re playing with a bit more confidence.”
In men’s state league 2, Hoppers Crossing had a solid 2-0 win over Moreland United away at Moomba Park Reserve, courtesy of goals to Kwaku Dade and Taira Matsumoto.
The Reds, who host Westvale on Saturday, remain a point clear from rivals Altona City at the top of the ladder.
In men’s state league 4, Point Cook suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Surf Coast on home soil at Saltwater Reserve.
The Jets are now slightly detached from the top two, three points behind second-placed Bell Park.
Truganina Hornets are bogged down in second last after a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Newmarket Phoenix.
The most shocking scorelines of the weekend came out of the women’s state league 3.
Hoppers Crossing blitzed a hapless Meadow Park 18-0 at Gladstone Park with Julia Budiongo-Batota firing in an incredible 10 goals. Jovana Vukovic finished with a hat-trick and Mylene Deschamps scored a double in the rout.
Point Cook enjoyed a 9-0 win over RMIT at Saltwater Reserve on Friday night with Mya Moran leading the way with four goals.
