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Monday, 10 July 2006 |
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Two second half goals in the space of 3 minutes from Saso Becvinovski and Tomi Razov gave Altona Magic an unlikely victory over a hard working Sunshine George Cross outfit.
For the Georgies this home loss was a devastating blow in their bid to retain Premier League status. To come away with nothing to show for their efforts was hard to digest for the Georgie camp, but all is not lost if this endeavour is maintained. After a quiet opening the game sprung to life after 26 minutes when Sunshine captain Manny Muscat was fouled on the left flank. The free kick taken by Vasco Trpcevski was poorly punched out by Altona keeper Bojo Jevdjevic with the ball falling to the ever alert Trent Waterson. The Georgie youngster steadied and struck a low drive past ruck of players to open the scoring. Former Georgie Agim Sherifovski unleashed a thunderous drive from 30 metres to draw a brilliant diving save from Georgie keeper Martin John. Manny Muscat showed his fighting qualities when he won back a lost cause to find Eduardo Soares on the edge of the penalty Area. Soares brilliantly back heeled the ball to set up Mark Draycott with only the keeper to beat. Draycott finish lacked power and direction to let Altona off the hook. The visitors had an even bigger let off after Trent Waterson was brought down in the box and referee Marian Najdovski awarded Sunshine a penalty. Mark Draycott saw his shot escape the clutches of Jevdjevic and roll over the goal line. The referee's assistant had already started running towards the centre of the ground so sure he was the ball crossed the line, but the referee thought otherwise and the goal was disallowed. Vasco Trpcevski burst through the Altona defence to find himself one on one with the Magic keeper, but his strong shot was straight at him for another lost opportunity. Altona came out more determined in the second half, but it was Waterson who once again forced Jevdjevic into another fine save. Fidell Richards was continually tormenting his Altona defenders, but most of his work was too far away from the opposition goal. Richards did force Jevdjevic into scrambling away another hard shot. The ball fell just out of reach of Mark Draycott who by now could have had this game all wrapped up. The game swung Altona's way immediately Brett Gilmour went off after a clash of heads. Following another failed Georgie attack after 60 minutes, Bojo Jevdjevic unleashed a long punt kick that eluded every Georgie defenders to set up Saso Becvinovski with a run in on goals. The experienced defender made no mistake in beating Martin John from close range to bring Altona back on level terms. It was a sucker punch that all too often has been Sunshine's downfall throughout the season. Sunshine George Cross should have been back in front 30 seconds later when a Manny Muscat cross saw Mark Draycott glance his header just wide of the upright. After 63 minutes the visitors took the lead in very fortunate circumstances. Tomi Razov played a short corner to Becvinovski, who quickly return the pass to him. Razov intended cross floated over Sunshine defender Adam Gauci-Seddon to finish up in the back of the net. The Georgies did their best to get something out of the game, but third placed Altona was happy to hang on to the lead by restricting all avenues to goal. In the under 21 Sunshine George Cross found their scoring boots once again with an emphatic 6-0 win. Goals came from Michael Esposito 2, Fahed Alghazaly, Damir Prodanovic, Jason Ioannidis, and Con Paraskevas. This coming Sunday Sunshine George Cross travels to the Bob Jane Stadium to face South Melbourne.
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