PICTURE GALLERY: Laverton Park v Truganina
LAVERTON Park struggled to break down the defence of Truganina Hornets and had to settle for a frustrating 1-1 home draw in Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 5 on Saturday.
The Reds entered the weekend just three points behind ladder leader Melton Phoenix, but the gap has stretched out to five points and a hefty wad of goal difference after the Phoenix’s incredible 16-1 slaughter of Sunshine Heights Western Tigers.
Reds captain Vince De La Plaza told the Weekly his side could ill- afford to drop two points against a Hornets team in lowly 13th position.
“We were disappointed with the result.
‘‘We wanted to win and we needed to win to stay up top. It’s a bit costly because now we’re two games away from Melton.”
The signs were pointing to an upset when Truganina came out with a purpose in the first half.
The visitors got the first goal on the board through David Dennerley on the back of a Reds defensive error.
“It was a bit against the run of play,” De La Plaza said. “We gave the ball away in midfield and they took advantage of it.”
The Reds were much better after half time.
They had the benefit of marauding left winger Leon Orozco, who was constantly penetrating the front third. “He made a few good crosses from runs down the left,” De La Plaza said.
After a couple of unlucky shots that hit the crossbar, the Reds finally got their equaliser with 25 minutes to go.
Ajak Panek latched onto a Mario Caneleo-Veliz corner to head into the back of the net.
“It was a relief,” De La Plaza said.
“We dominated the game, but they defended well.”
Elsewhere, Altona Magic and North Geelong Warriors shared six goals in a 3-3 draw in the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 1 on Saturday.
The Magic had the game in hand at half time, leading by three goals but coughed up the three points in a dismal second half.
It was a two-point drop for the seventh-placed Magic, who missed out on the chance to return to the top five.
In state league 2, Altona East Phoenix was no match for Avondale Heights, losing 4-0.
It was a better weekend for Yarraville Glory and particularly John Little in state league 3. Yarraville crushed Melbourne University 4-1 on the back of a double hat-trick from Little.
Altona City came back from a goal down at half-time to draw 2-2 with promotion contenders Sporting Whittlesea.
Williamstown also came from behind for a 3-2 win over Surf Coast in state league 4, but Maribyrnong Greens lost 1-0 to Essendon United.
In state league 5, Melbourne City got all three points on the road, beating Melbourne Tornado 2-1 after goals to Henry Nunez and Cesar Lara Arias.
Altona North and Balmoral shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
In the women’s premier league, Altona City suffered its 12th straight loss in a 5-0 drubbing from top side South Melbourne.
