Tara Murray
It was a winning start for new Werribee City coach Giuseppe Santalucia in the National Premier League 2 competition.
Having not claimed a point since round three, the Bees parted ways with coach Frank Petricca in late May.
Having had a caretaker coach, the club last week announced that Santalucia had been appointed head coach for the rest of the season.
His first task was heading to Shepparton to face the bottom placed Goulburn Valley Suns on Saturday afternoon.
While it seemed like the perfect time to break the winning drought, the match was a hard fought one.
Neither team was able to score in the first half and the match looked headed for a scoreless draw.
Adam Oddo broke the deadlock in the fourth minute of injury time, to put the Bees in front.
It would be enough to give the Bees the 1-0 win.
Santalucia said it was amazing for the boys to get back on the winners list after 10 straight losses.
“The game was injury time and the ref basically gave us another 30 seconds,” he said. “We managed to get the goal which was really exciting. We didn’t expect to get the goal that late, the boys really deserved it.
“It’s good for their confidence and hopefully it’s the start of something for us.”
Santalucia said while they got the win in the dying seconds, the match could have been over in the first half.
He said they had a number of chances to score, but just couldn’t convert.
The win is the Bees fourth for the season and moves them to 12th spot. They sit just one point clear of 13th and 14th.
For Santalucia it marked a great start to his time as senior coach. Having joined the Bees just after he moved to Australia he has been involved as a player and coach since.
He started this season as a senior assistant coach, with the club deciding he was the right man to lead them throughout the rest of the season.
“The club decided to stick with me,” he said. “I help out with the Mini Roos as well, so I’m working with players from the bottom to the top.
“I’m pretty much at the club every day. I want to keep on bringing young players through.”
This week the Bees are back at home, hosting Brunswick City on Saturday afternoon. With Brunswick sitting 14th, the match will be a good chance to move further away from the bottom group.
Santalucia said for the group it was about forgetting about what they did last week and just focusing on what was ahead.
“Every training session is a new beginning,” he said. “We want to try and focus on the game and take it week by week and try and get more points.”
Meanwhile in NPL3, Western United had no troubles against the Whittlesea Ranges
United led 2-1 at half time after three goals in the back half of the first half.
Two goals early in the second half would seal the win for United.
United sits in third spot, just three points behind ladder leaders Melbourne City.
