THE race for the first division soccer championship remained unchanged after first placed Sunshine George Cross and second placed Dandenong Thunder drew against Westgate and Bulleen Royals in round 15 on Saturday.
The Georgies were held to a nil-all draw by a Westgate side desperate for points to escape relegation, while second placed Dandenong Thunder failed to narrow the gap between first and second when they were held to a 1-1 by Bulleen Royals.
The Georgies reshuffled their team for the clash after losing goalkeeper Martin John, Steve Manceski and Steve Underwood through injuries while George Papadopoulos was serving a one-match suspension after receiving his fifth caution this season.
Coach Andy O’Dell was away and the selection of defender Tommy Johnston as a striker came as a surprise had not played a game since round six.
The move backfired with the Georgies being made to look second best in the first half against a more fluent Westgate side.
The Georgies failed to get a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, with Westgate going close on two occasions.
Debutant goalkeeper Nikola Kosutic had a busy 10 minutes late in the first half when he was called into action.
He faced dangerous free kicks from the edge of the penalty area and was under pressure from high balls.
He dealt with them well but had to be rescued by a team-mate late in the half after he palmed the ball onto the cross-bar.
Sunshine George Cross captain Colin Azzopardi was a steadying influence in defence, while Westgate’s Cesar Hermosilla’s return to Chaplin Reserve caused his former team-mate many anxious moments.
It was the poorest 45 minutes by the Georgies this season.
Stand-in coaches James Baskerville and Gary Melachan made the changes after the break with Johnston dropping to defence while Matthew Cini was pushed forward.
This had an immediate effect with the Georgies going close to being one up after 30 seconds of the restart.
Wayne Wallace won the ball in midfield and played the ball through to Nicholas Harrhy who beat the keeper but his shot flashed just wide of the upright.
The Georgies looked better organised and again just failed to break the deadlock when a Wayne Wallace shot from the edge of the penalty area went narrowly over.
Peter Koutsoupias came on for Johnston at the 61-minute mark with Cini taking over the fullback position.
A well taken corner kick by Vasko Trpcevski found Anthony Bowsley but his pressured shot was wayward.
The Georgies introduced another debutant, when Alex Arregin came on for Trpcevski at the 71-minute mark.
It was all out attack by the home team in search of the vital break with Paul Wilson going close from a free kick that had Westgate goalkeeper Mario Roza back peddling into pushing the ball over the bar for a corner.
Sunshine George Cross has made a habit of scoring late winning goals this season and could have claimed Westgate’s scalp, with only four minutes remaining.
Wilson once again produced a match-winning ball from the right wing that found the head of full back John Black.
The Irish youngster placed his header well but the ball just missed the top corner of the net.
Westgate held on for a draw to take four points from a possible six from the Georgies this season.
