SUNSHINE George Cross lost a fiery season opener 1-0 against Kingston City to kick off the Vodafone Cup on Friday night.
It was the first ever meeting between the clubs, and Kingston started as hot favourite following some big signings in the off season.
However, it was Sunshine George Cross which settled best from the outset with Trent Waterson creative on the right flank.
The Georgies went close to opening the scoring on three occasions in the first 15 minutes and had a penalty shot turned down by the referee to add to the frustration.
The newly promoted Kingston began to find its feet in the big league and started to become dangerous as the first half wore on.
The team forced several corners, one which saw a goal-bound header handled on the line by new Sunshine player Ivan Filipovic.
Filipovic was sent from the field over the incident, with new Kingston striker Michael Curcija making no mistake from the penalty spot.
To its credit, the 10-man Georgies team took the game up to the home team and could have drawn level when a hard rasping drive from Brett Gilmour skimmed the cross bar in the second half.
There were chances for both teams for score in the dying stages, but City held firm and picked up the points.
It was a disappointing loss for the Cross, but the team put on a gritty display against big odds.
The under 21s kicked off the new season in fine style with an emphatic 8-0 win over Kingston.
The Georgies play their first home game for the season this Sunday against Preston Lions at Chaplin Reserve.
