Whittlesea Ranges have gone from the highs to the lows of soccer within two rounds in the National Premier League 1.
Ranges shared the points with runaway competition leader Avondale Heights before going down to bottom-of-the-table Brunswick City 2-0 on Saturday.
For the Ranges, who are second-bottom on the table, City has become somewhat of a bogey side. City has won just two games for the year, both against Ranges.
Ranges coach Vinko Buljubasic said not much had gone right for his side against City.
“We had to sub off a player early [Daniel Giogha] with a broken toe and that threw us,” he said. “In general play we opened up the game, but we couldn’t convert on the dominance we had. They scored a goal against the run of play in the first half after we had dominated.”
Things went from bad to worse in the second half, with Matthew Iuliano getting a red card.
“We pushed players forward to try and score and that got us into trouble … they scored a second goal,” Buljubasic said. “Once it was two goals it was over.”
He said the conditions didn’t help the Ranges’ attacking style.
“It was difficult for both teams – it was raining and parts of the ground were really muddy. If it had been a better surface or bigger ground we could have opened them up.”
Buljubasic said the result was disappointing after a positive month.
“The game could have gone either way – we had three or four real chances to score.
“It’s a good lesson for the boys after the last month. It shows every game can be difficult.”
The Ranges now face Moreland Zebras, who defeated Avondale Heights.
“They are flying at the moment, so it will be a big challenge,” Buljubasic said of the Zebras.
“Hopefully, this loss will motivate the boys and they fully concentrate. We’ll have at least three changes to the side, so it will give opportunities for some young players.”
