Sebastopol Vikings suffered an unexpected and costly loss to Altona North in its FFV state league four west campaign.
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The Vikings went down 3-2 while promotion rival Point Cook won, meaning it leapfrogs Sebastopol to the top of the table with two rounds remaining.
Coach Corey Smith said a “freak” goal, which leveled the scores at 1-1, gave the opposition a huge boost which changed the momentum.
After Vikings’ goalie kicked the ball in, an Altona clearance was hit flush, so flush it cleared the keeper and sailed through from 50 metres.
Smith said it was disappointing to drop top spot after holding it for 10 rounds.
“To lose top spot with two games to go is a blow,” Smith said.
“I thought the playing group played ok, (but) I thought we were slightly flat in areas.
“Anything can happen in a football match, but we have enough quality in our side to finish the game off earlier.
“It (the ‘freak’ goal) turned the game on its head...it really rallied them and changed the whole complexion of the game.”
Smith said it was crucial the side move on and focus on taking six points away from the final two rounds to give it every chance of reclaiming top spot.
“The game is gone, we need to look towards the next two games and make sure we bounce back.
“Every time we’ve been tested this year we’ve risen to the test...with two games to go, the onus is on us to go and get six points.”