SEBASTOPOL Vikings made the most of the best conditions to take the edge off Melton Phoenix and ultimately claim the game in Football Federation Victorian state league west four on Saturday.
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The Vikings rallied to the pre-match call by coach Michael Busija to grab the early ascendancy on their water-logged home pitch – laying the foundation for a 2-1 win.
Busija said the state of the pitch was only going to get worse and the challenge bigger as the day progressed. So he could not have been happier when Jye Cartledge opened the scoring with a header on 15 minutes via a free kick.
Sebastopol officials had to work hard to get game underway after persistent rain on Saturday morning. Busija said he had had his doubts as to whether the game would go ahead when he arrived three hours before kick-off.
He said it was only after transferring the reserves match to the number two ground at St George’s Reserve and a lot of hard work to remove surface water that the game was given the green light.
Busija said it was obvious that playing conditions would worsen as the ground became heavier so getting on the front foot had been crucial in what was potentially a season-defining fixture.
What made Busija all the more pleased going to half-time was a second goal – this time from the penalty spot by Ryan Rykers after Luke Swards was taken down.
Busija said while the Vikings was on the right side of the ledger at the main break, there was never any thought that the lead was enough, given so much was on the line for Melton. It was no surprise to see Phoenix respond and come out hard in the second half. So when Melton scored with a volley from about 20 metres out at 72 minutes it was game on.
Busija said the momentum swung their way significantly when a Melton player was sent off at 84 minutes after receiving two yellow cards in the space of a minute.
He said this took the sting out of Phoenix and enabled the Vikings to close the game down. Busija praised the performances of Henry in the goal, and Alex Antonelli and Matt Jamieson. He was particularly pleased to get a full game out of Antonelli, who has been been troubled with back and hamstring issues.
The Vikings sits fifth with seven games remaining.
LADDER:Bell Park 28, Maribyrnong 28, Point Cook 26, Melbourne City 25, Sebastopol 25, Brimbank 23, Surf Coast 19, Melton 18, Truganina 13, Keilor 13, Laverton Park 6
RESERVES: Vikings 3 d Melton 2
LADDER: Sebastopol 40, Point Cook 31, Truganina 25, Altona North 24, Bell Park 23, Melbourne City 22, Brimbank 19, Maribrynong 19, Keilor 18, Melton 17, Laverton Park 12, Surf Coast 10
