Bentleigh Greens coach John Anastasadis was relieved to see off his first game of the season on Saturday night with a win, as his team brushed aside newly promoted North Geelong Warriors 2-0.
Matt Thurtell helped the side to the lead in the first half, before Jamie de Abreu came off the bench and polished the contest off before the final whistle.
The Bentleigh coach reserved praise for the Warriors who, under Micky Colina, pushed the Greens all the way throughout the 90 minutes.
“It was a tough game out there – it wasn’t easy. The boys withstood a lot of pressure, especially in the second half,” Anastasiadis said.
“We had a lot of chances; their keeper was probably best on ground today. Says it all really, we’ve just got to convert our chances to make a game easier for us.
“I thought they might sit back, but absolute credit to them, because they came out to play. They didn’t park the bus, they didn’t sit behind the ball and didn’t come to play for a draw. They played for to win and credit to them – Micky [Colina’s] done a great job with them.”
It was a new look lineup at Kingston Heath, with six of the starting 11 recruited for the 2015 campaign.
Whilst Anastasiadis was pleased with the result, he stressed the team would naturally need more time to find its feet – by gelling as a team and reaching peak fitness – before fully firing as the season progressed.
“It’s the first game, it’s always going to be a bit rusty but I think our endeavour was good. Matt Thurtell was alight. We’re about 70% there,” he said.
“Chris Lucas on another day would score three of those chances [he wasted], no doubt about it – he’s very clinical. Matty Thurtell was great, Topa [Steven Topalovic] was fantastic, even Tyson Holmes did exceptionally well. He’s come here and we’ve given him an opportunity. Dion Kirk was excellent in midfield.
“All the boys are great, they’re a good bunch. They’ll gel; don’t forget, we had six new players out there out of 11 from last year. So they’ll take a bit of time to gel.
“It’s all about finishing, it’s all about scoring goals. Whilst we played some good stuff at times, especially in the first half, we had some great chances and when you’re going into the break at 3-0 up, it can be an easy game for you.
“But that’s football for you, the keeper’s there to stop goals and he did today, good on him. We’ve just got to be a bit more clinical.”
The Greens mentor also praised his bench, attributing squad depth as a key attribute to his side’s title aspirations for the season ahead.
“A winning formula and a championship team is a as good as their bench. At the moment we have those four, another week it could be a different four,” he said.
“But we’re in a pleasant position where we can say we have four very good players on the bench who can change a game.
“Jamie de Abreu comes on and scores, then creates another great chance, so he did his job. Kobbie [Boahene] was nowhere at South Melbourne, but we’re going to throw him this opportunity because we believe in the kids.
“Troy Ruthven is a super player and so is Liam [McCormick]. Liam’s our man, he’s been with me for three years. I can always depend on him and he’s always there to help us out.”
Bentleigh Greens can now look ahead to their second round clash against Dandenong Thunder away at George Andrews Reserve on Saturday, February 28.