Green Gully boss Bob Stojcevski took a precarious stance as as his side blew some good opportunities to succumb to a 1-0 loss against South Melbourne.
On one hand he was pleased with the way his team applied themselves mentally, pushing hard all game to try and force both an equaliser and a winner against the top side, whilst on the other, he was left to rue the missed opportunities they had.
“Yeah it was an interesting game. I think they were just content with that 1-0 lead given that they took that early but from our point of view we came to win the game,” Stojcevski said.
“We didn’t come to settle for a draw, and settle for a good performance against the top side. We really came here with the view of winning the game today and we tried to do that the whole game right until the last minute.
“We had a long patch in the first half were we were dominating but we couldn’t score a goal. I think if we had have put one of those chances away it would’ve been a totally different game.”
Elaborating on that point, Stokcevski went on to wonder what if they did take their chances whilst also discussing how the game ebbed and flowed, South eventually earning their fair share of possession.
“[Had we scored] I think the confidence would’ve been a lot higher and we would’ve had something to strive for in terms of the three points,” he said.
“Given that we couldn’t make that breakthrough in that first half during that 20-30 minute dominance, they obviously got the chance to refresh and came out and probably played better in the first 10 minutes [of the second half].
“They created a few chances that they didn’t score but naturally enough we were always going to open up going for the win. There’s no point settling for the 1-0 result.”
The Cavaliers coach also noted that his boys may be paying a bit too much respect to the top sides of the competition, and with a spirited performance against the very best, there’s no reason to believe they can’t beat any side on their day.
The task against second placed Oakleigh next week will be a true test of their ambition.
“I think the one team we’re doing is we’re paying a bit of respect to sides,” Stojcevski said.
“I think we need to remember how good Green Gully can be on their day and approach the game from the first minute with that view and not pay too much respect to the top side, or second side.
“We’re obviously playing Oakleigh next week and we’re mindful that we conceded six goals last time but our approach is going to be that we go try to win that one, not to restrict them. Exactly the same approach that we took [against South Melbourne].”
Green Gully takes on South Melbourne on Saturday afternoon for Round 17 of the NPL Victoria season. Kick-off at Green Gully Reserve is scheduled for 3:00pm.