Atilla Ofli completed a second-half hat-trick in the sixth minute of added time as Whittlesea Ranges stole a point from Werribee City in the opening round of National Premier League 2 west on Sunday.
Ranges trailed all match after the Bees scored in the opening minute of the game at Galvin Park.
Werribee took a 2-0 lead 11 minutes later and went into half time in the box seat for the three points.
But it was the Ofli show after the break as Ranges grabbed a 3-3 draw with an equaliser in the 96th minute.
Speaking before the game, Ranges’ coach Vinco Buljubasic said his side was ready to hit the park after a long preseason.
“I can’t wait,” he said.
“We started preseason in the last week in November before a break over Christmas.
“We only started finalising the squad in the last few weeks as we’ve had players come and go in that time.”
Buljubasic said that while Ranges had managed to keep most of their squad from last year, there had still been a bit of turnover.
“We wanted to bring in some leaders and players who coach on the field,” he said.
“There have been some big losses, and we wish them the best of luck, but we’ve added quite a few players in areas we’ve lacked in the past.”
Experience was what Ranges were looking for in new recruits and so far former A-League defender Naum Sekulovski and former Bendigo City star George Slefendorfas have stood out.
“Naum and George are experienced players and I felt we needed them to help make the team better,” Buljubasic said.
“Under pressure they can lead by example. The younger player has been looking up to them at training since they arrived.”
Kevin Martin, Jordan Brown, Liam Newman and Sanni Dauda are among the other players to join Ranges in the offseason.
After two seasons of developing the side, Buljubasic said the club had raised expectations this year.
Ranges finished seventh in the west group last season with a 9-7-12 record.
“A lot of the players have 40 or 50 games under their belts now, so there’s no reason why we can’t improve,” Buljubasic said.
Ranges’ next match is against Melbourne City at Epping Stadium at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
