Image: Mark Avellino
About 12 months ago, JL Murphy provided the backdrop to North Geelong Warriors’ dejection and despondence when their relegation from the top flight was confirmed just a season after promotion with a 2-0 defeat to Melbourne Victory.
Now the same venue provided contrasting scenes as the Warriors took another stride towards redemption and bouncing back to the summit – potentially exchanging places once more with Victory as one of the relegated clubs in 2016 – after winning the second-placed NPL2 play-off against the East’s Dandenong Thunder 4-1.
“In football, plans don’t always go 100% through, but [for us] most of the time it did. We had a game plan and we had to be patient and I think the boys did that really well and credit to the lads, they were great tonight,” Warriors coach Micky Colina said.
“For us to have a result like this is very special and the lads played well – it’s one box ticked at the end of the day, we’re nowhere near it, but we’re one step closer.
North Geelong sprung to an ideal start when Michael Anderson smashed in the first of the night from close distance after pouncing on a loose ball.
Nick Jurcic’s industry on the wing then paid off when he got in the second, to take the Warriors up 2-0 at the break.
North Geelong added a third after the break after a deflection on the goalline to make the result appear all but sealed, however a Nick Modaffari strike pegged one back and gave Thunder the momentum heading towards the climax of the contest.
But missed opportunities at one end allowed Anderson to break through on the counter at the other end, making no mistake with the finish to seal the result.
While multiple FFV award winner Brandon Barnes started off on the bench due to not being fully fit, he came on during the second half but couldn’t ultimately turn the tide of the contest.
Colina credited the stability of his side – a seldom unchanged lineup in recent weeks driven by a miserly backline and a potent front third – as a major contributor to the result.
“In the end it’s irrelevant [who started]. We prepared for their best XI and obviously Barnesy is in that, I wasn’t surprised when I heard he was a bit underdone, nevertheless Dandenong have got plenty of depth and are a quality side,” Colina said.
“Stability and consistency is the key in anything you do and that’s the same in football. They’ve been outstanding this year, the boys have been great and it just makes it easier when you work on things and you do have that consistency and they get to grow within the game you are trying to create and every week.
“Everyone doing their jobs as a whole, understanding the game we do want to play makes it easier.”
Now just a single win awaits, with Richmond SC – who will need to win to avoid the drop – providing the final barrier to the Warriors’ quest to return to the top.
Richmond will find themselves in a similar situation to North Geelong last year, having been forced to wait to participate in the play-off due to the difference in league fixturing between the top flight and NPL2, and Colina sympathises with the situation the club finds itself in.
“Last year we had a crazy second half of the season, momentum built and the boys looked great, and then to sit around for five weeks is very challenging and very difficult,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what, you can play all the practice matches – which we only played the one or two because it was hard to organise – and training just doesn’t really cut it. So it is tough, and I don’t envy Richmond’s position.
“It’s a difficult situation to be in, but at the end of the day it all comes down to next week and I’m sure they’ll be doing everything within their power to prepare themselves in the best possible way.”
The Warriors head coach admits the current NPL2 format of two conferences isn’t his preferred system, and one that’s thrown more challenges on and off the pitch since the 14-team, single conference format of the first year of the NPL era.
On top of the extra games leading to the longer season in NPL2, there has also been a variance in travel between the two, with some clubs playing other clubs twice or only once – and which can for some be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the calibre of opponent in their particular.
“I’ll be honest, the program needs tweaking, that’s for sure. I don’t think it’s an ideal situation we’re playing in – it makes it challenging for clubs, just the whole logistical setup of the promotional thing.
“I don’t know if we really realise down the track when it starts to happen all the way down the leagues, how difficult it will be to manage all that – it will a tough task managing the whole process.
“But in the end you’ve just to deal with it – it’s been another experience for the lads to deal with this kind of format, you find out things about yourself, challenge yourself every week and keep working to put the best possible performance on every week.”
History awaits Victorian football should win North Geelong win next week. With St Albans already confirming their promotion as champions of the West, alongside Melbourne Knights the Warriors could become the third club of Croatian origin simultaneously in the NPL – the first time such a feat would occur in Victorian football.
“If it happens that’s when it will probably sink in, you don’t think about it at all, you just concentrate on the game,” Colina said.
“It would be great – it’s never happened in the history of the game in this state – it would be pretty special, all the derbies, and the three clubs bring a lot to football in Victoria. To have three passionate clubs all competing only just adds that special something to the competition as a whole.”