Hoppers Crossing coach Steve Iosifidis admits his side might have benefited from a referee’s decision to controversially over-rule a lineswoman in its 2-0 win over Western Eagles.
Whether the opening goal of the game affected the outcome of the result is debatable considering the Reds scored a second goal through Riel Makuei late on, but Iosifidis was not hiding from the fact that the decision boosted his side’s chances on the day.
The drama surrounded the go-ahead goal scored by Reds striker Liam McDermott in the first half of the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 3 north-west match at Grange Reserve on Saturday.
McDermott was adjudged to be offside by the referee’s assistant and she put her flag up to signal as much.
The referee over-ruled, allowing play to go on and McDermott to find the back of the net.
Iosifidis does not know if McDermott was or wasn’t offside but he would have accepted the linesman’s call as final.
“It was pretty odd,” Iosifidis said. “The linesman had her flag up and the referee over-ruled. I’ve never seen that before.
“Offside is offside really. Whether it was or it wasn’t, the linesman put her flag up.
“They get paid to do a job and that’s to point left, point right or raise their flag and that’s exactly what she’s done.
“It was good to get the second goal because the first one was controversial.”
While Iosifidis said he could understand why the Western Eagles weren’t happy, the Reds are not about the give the goal back.
“We’ve been on the tail end of that – a few weeks ago, conceding a last-minute penalty which I thought wasn’t a penalty,” he said.
The Reds are delighted with the recent performances of their defence of captain Brian Chesson, Vincent Honore, Joe Nave, Bol Mathiang and Marc Barbieri.
They have strung together three clean sheets in a row with raw 16-year-old George Maxwell between the posts.
“Like the old saying goes, strikers win you games but the defence wins you championships,” Iosifidis said.
“All the championships I’ve been involved with, we’ve had the best defence.”
The Reds will hit the road to play La Trobe University on Saturday.
In the NPL, Werribee City finally claimed its first win of the season, downing Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 at Galvin Park on Sunday.
The Bees had to do it with 10 men for the final 22 minutes after Ryan Filipovic received a second yellow card.
Filipovic was the hero for the Bees as it was his goal from the penalty spot before half-time that proved crucial.
Steven Cudrig was the Bees’ other goalscorer.
The Bees have a golden opportunity to make it two wins on the trot when they travel to play bottom-of-the-ladder North Geelong Warriors at Elcho Park on Saturday.
In state league 4 west, Truganina Hornets had a resounding 3-1 win over Keilor Wolves, while Point Cook held on for a 2-1 victory over Bell Park.
