SUNSHINE GEORGE CROSS 0

 MELBOURNE KNIGHTS 2 ( CALDWELL 1', TALEVSKI 47')

LINE UP: John(GK),Erdogan,Muscat(c),Kovacevic,Delic,Neceski(Rixon 53’), Cvetanoski(Filipovic 53'),Gasparis,Gilmour,Pajic,Waterson


The visiting Melbourne Knights had a very comfortable 2-0 win over a very disappointing Sunshine George Cross outfit. The Georgies gave a first up start for the season to Marinos Gasparis and Zoran Pajic in for the suspended Craig Platt and Colin Azzopardi who was unavailable.

The Knights remained unchanged fron the previous week when they defeated Richmond 2-0 and came out on the offensive and caught the Georgies napping to take the lead after only 50 seconds of play. The ball was quickly worked into the left flank, where an inch perfect pass to the far post found the head of the unmarked Nathan Caldwell who had the easy task of scoring from 2 yards.

The Knights had very little difficulty handling the ineffective Georgie striking combination of Tony Neceski and Marinos Gasparis, and it was they who were more likely to add to the score. The Georgies had a very lucky let off in the 36th minute, when Luke Slater scored but was dubiously ruled offside.
The start of the second half was a carbon copy of the first, with the Knights quickly on the attack.

 After a brilliant exchange of passes, the ball fininshed up at the feet of fullback Goran Talevski who unleashed a powerful drive into the roof of the net to make it 2-0 to the visitors.
The Georgies tried to get back into the game and had a lot of the ball, but were very ineffective in attack and lacked penetration in the last third of the field.

The Knights were happy to hang on to what they had and were content hold the Georgies at bay and play on the break. Both goalkeepers had a relatively quiet afternoon, with defenders giving them ample coverage. It appeared the Melbourne Knights always had the capablity of lifting to a higher level if the need arose, whereas the Georgies struggled when it was needed once going behind so early in the game.

YELLOW CARDS:  Gilmour 30', Cvetanoski 50', Rixon 60'