SUNSHINE George Cross suffered its second consecutive loss in the Victorian Premier League, going down to the unbeaten Hume City 3-2 at Broadmeadows Valley Park on Sunday.
The Georgies conceded three goals in the space of 14 minutes to go down 3-0, but a fight-back led by Stuart Nicholson put the Georgies within reach in the dying stages.
City’s Richard Cardozo hit a brace in the 51st and 65th minutes, which sandwiched Zoran Petrevski’s 62nd minute effort.
Nicholson opened the George Cross scoring in the 75th minute, before hitting a perfect cross for George Papadopoulos, who headed home in second-half injury time.
But it was too late to salvage a point for Sunshine, as the ref signalled full time moments later.
Sunshine coach Andy O’Dell was frustrated with his side’s defence, which has let through nine goals in five games.
“Defensively, from start to finish in the second half we lost concentration, we don’t pick up, we don’t get tight and we got punished by, what I thought for a team that’s won four games, were beatable,” he said.
O’Dell was happy though with his side’s first half efforts in quelling the high-scoring City.
“We could have been two-nil up at half time, I thought we were the team that dominated the game. Disappointed with the second half performance, first half we did well. We’ve worked on things. Second half we switch off and get punished.”
Unfortunately for George Cross, the floodgates opened soon after the break, leaving Sunshine with five points from five games.
Hume, on the other hand, has won five out of five, and scored 13 goals in those five games, sending a big warning to the rest of the competition.
City media manager Ezel Hikmet said his side was on top for the majority of the 90 minutes on Sunday. “We had full control of the game, they had the wind in the first half that made them look like they were in control,” he said.
Hikmet also hit out at Hume City Council for allowing City to play at Broadmeadows Valley Park.
“Being the only VPL team in the city of Hume, we would have expected a lot better conditions for this club. It’s a cow paddock, it’s a ground that’s very dangerous. It’s a hazard for injuries as well.”
– Luke Sheehan
