Whittlesea Ranges’ unbeaten start to the National Premier League 2 west season came to an end in the top-of-the-table clash with Moreland Zebras on Saturday.
It was a special day for the Ranges as they hosted the now-annual Anzac Day fixture against their old rivals at Epping Stadium.
But it didn’t end the way they would have liked and they went down to a disappointing 4-0 loss.
Both teams went into the match on 18 points from eight matches but the Zebras started the better and took the lead through Nejc Kolman in the 10
Baggio Yousif doubled the lead just before half-time and went on to complete a hat-trick with further goals after 73 and 83 minutes.
The win puts the Zebras three points clear on top of the NPL 2 west ladder, with North Geelong
Warriors in second place ahead of Ranges on goal difference.
The Ranges now face Eastern Lions at Gardiners Creek Reserve on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Hume City suffered a 10 to Green Gully in NPL.
City had several chances in both halves to score but were denied each time.
The Cavaliers hit the front just before half time and that proved to be the difference.
City sits ninth on the ladder, nine points behind leader South Melbourne.
It wasn’t all bad news for City last week, as they made it through to the next round of the
nation-wide FFA Cup by beating Dandenong Thunder 3-1 in Round 5 of the Victorian stage of the competition.
City opened the scoring through Shane Rexhepi in the sixth minute and Joseph Franjic doubled the score in the 40
Thunder got a goal back right on halftime through a penalty before Kristian Trajceski scored the sealer for City in the 69th minute.
