By Tara Murray
The confidence is growing at the Whittlesea Ranges as the side produced its best result of the National Premier League 2 west season.
After getting their first win of the season two rounds ago, the Ranges were disappointed not to make it two wins the following round.
Keen to bounce back, the Ranges hit the road to face Murray United.
The Ranges had to do it the hard way, but were able to come away with a 3-2 win.
Ranges coach George Karkaletis said he was proud of how the players responded after finding themselves 2-0 down.
“We had control for most of the game,” he said. “Archie Thompson found a goal for them. We then conceded one early in the second half and I thought our day was done.
“They were two goals that we couldn’t really have done much about.
“We persisted, though, and with the self-belief were able to get away with the win.”
While the Ranges controlled most of the play, Karkaletis admits Murray playing all the second half with 10 men worked to their advantage.
“That was probably the difference,” he said.
“We addressed it at half-time. We looked at where we thought we could hurt them and take advantage of the extra player. They were able to execute the game plan and get the job done.”
Jose Luis Ramires scored twice for the Ranges and was instrumental in the third goal.
Karkaletis said captain Christopher Dib led from the front.
“He was really vocal,” he said. “He got the players around him to lift when the chips were down.”
Karkaletis said the nature of the win would help instill further belief into a side that has had a tough start to the year.
The win moves the Ranges to 10 points and a bit closer to the teams above them.
“We’ve got a couple of wins under the belt,” he said. “We want to get two wins in a row. That will give us the opportunity to catch the bunch ahead of us.”
Whittlesea Ranges have started making changes to the team in the transfer window.
Ryan Love made his first start for the side, having come off the bench in his first game.
Karkaletis said they were looking at adding a striker from Perth.
He said they had released a few players and would look at trying to bring in a few new ones.
Meanwhile in the NPL, Hume City continued its good form with a 3-0 win against Dandenong Thunder.
Matthew Lazarides and James Brown both scored for Hume, with the third an own goal.
The win moves Hume to fourth on the table.
