North Geelong Warriors coach Ante Skoko has praised the determination of his team, and credited the club’s away supporters for spurring the players on to victory after their 3-1 away win over Springvale White Eagles on Saturday.
Skoko said the win was well deserved, despite only being sealed in added time after Springvale mounted a late challenge to claim an equaliser.
“We had most of the play in the first [half], then they got on top and luckily we got the third,” he said.
“They were unlucky to miss a few chances which [could have] made the result totally different.
“I thought the boys did pretty well everywhere. [In particular] our full backs were solid and played well.
Whilst the club has started the NPL 1 season strongly with two wins from three games, the Warriors’ coach is not getting ahead of himself, stressing his immediate focus is on the next round.
“We’re just trying to pick up as many points as we can,” Skoko said.
“As we get later in the season, depending on where we are, if we’ve got a chance to push and try to win something, we will.
“If we can’t, we’ll just keep blooding the young kids and keep giving them a go.”
Despite travelling over two hours to play in Springvale, Skoko was adamant the club was accustomed to the travel and it had no adverse effect on their performances.
“We’re used to it. We’ve always played at a high level,” the head coach said.
“We’ve been here a number of times and we like coming down here, everybody’s looked after well.”
Skoko credited the noisy contingent of away supporters for creating a home-like atmosphere every week and pushing his players to perform at their peak.
“We’re lucky our supporters follow us everywhere, they come down on a bus and it creates a good atmosphere for both teams,” he said.
“It does help everyone having them with us. It’s an incentive for everyone to work harder and pick the team up when they’re down.
“We appreciate them coming out all the time.”