Bottom of the table Brunswick City copped an all too familiar defeat, this time away at the hands of Richmond SC, who made it four wins in a row following last night’s 4-1 victory at Kevin Bartlett Reserve.
Despite City, for the second week running, earning an early lead – this time through Oktay Oztekin – goals from Joshua Knight and Hamlet Armenian saw Richmond enter the break a goal to the good.
Late goals to Tom Cahill and Mitchell Beamish extended the scoreline, ensuring Brunswick remain anchored at the bottom of the table following their sixth straight loss.
Brunswick decided to ring in the changes following last weeks big loss to Kingston City, most notably opting to keep Denis Sadik on the bench, and they appeared to begin the match with caution.
Although Richmond were playing their second game for the week, backing up from their Dockerty Cup victory on Wednesday, they controlled the majority of the possession with Brunswick seemingly unwilling to push forward.
They did get the games opener against the run of play in the seventh minute, with Oztekin capitalising on a Richmond mistake.
A poor back pass between defenders saw a crucial slip, which allowed the Brunswick’s midfielder to slot home past the keeper from the one-on-one opportunity.
The away side barely had a look in following the goal, with Richmond swiftly regaining control as Brunswick sat deeper, inviting pressure from their opponent.
The sheer weight of possession from the home team lead to a number of opportunities as they proceeded to attack down the left flank with aplomb, albeit to no avail.
That was until the 35th minute, where Brunswick only half-cleared a corner, allowing Joshua Knight the space to rifle in a shot from well outside the box.
His strike took a considerable deflection and although keeper Mason Interlandi got fingertips on the effort, it wasn’t enough to keep the ball out of the net.
Richmond then went one better and took the lead three minutes later through Hamlet Armenian, who tapped in a cross from Tim Purcell, ensuring his side took a well deserved lead into the break.
City somewhat stemmed the bleeding in the second half, restricting their opponents for the large majority of the term, but only had a handful of chances to equalise themselves, with cheap turnovers and an inability to hold possession the main culprit.
They were then made to rue those skill errors as Richmond eventually sealed the win with two late goals courtesy of striker Tom Cahill and substitute Mitchell Beamish.
The result had contrasting repercussions for both sides, with Richmond temporarily occupying fourth spot whilst Brunswick City further distanced themselves at the bottom of the table after the solitary win after 11 rounds.
Brunswick coach Joe De Martino admitted post game that it is the mental aspect of their game that is letting them down, singling out the need for his players to maintain their concentration for the entire game.
“I think we’re showing it week, after week, after week, that we cannot maintain focus and concentration for 90 minutes,” he said after the game.
“[Richmond] kept their cool, kept their concentration, right up to the very end because it was 2-1 right up to the last five minutes.”
Richmond travel away to North Geelong next week with a fifth straight league win on the cards, whilst Brunswick City travel away to FC Bendigo for their bottom of the table clash.