IT WAS a case of deja vu for the Sebastopol Vikings in its second round Football Federation Victoria state league four match, with another lapse in concentration costing the team the winning points.
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The Vikings put in a solid performance to fall just shy of Hoppers Crossing 2-1 at St Georges Reserve on Saturday.
Coach Michael Busija lamented the side’s lack of concentration after it allowed Hoppers Crossing danger man Zia Sherzai to score both before and after half-time.
Will Georgiou found the back of the net with a header after some good play from Scott Berg and Alex Antonelli late in the first half and the Vikings looked set to take a slight advantage into the break against the flow of play before Sherzai swooped to score an equaliser in the 43rd minute.
He continued his strong form, scoring the final goal of the match in the 50th minute.
“That (half-time) period of the game has cost us points both weeks,” Busija said.
“I didn’t think we deserved to win the match but we definitely could’ve shared the points.
“It’s almost the exact time that we were scored against last week but we definitely finished the stronger team and controlled the play for the last 20-25 minutes.
“Georgiou had a chance to score an equaliser late in the match but hit the post instead.
Busija said the team has plenty improvement ahead of what he thinks will be a “cagey” affair against Bell Park this weekend.
“We’ve still got another 15-20 per cent that we can pick up and if we can get to our very best there won’t be too many teams who will get the better of us,” he said.
FOOTBALL FEDERATION VICTORIA STATE LEAGUE
DIVISION 4
SENIORS
Hoppers Crossing 2 d Vikings 1
Melton 4 d Brimbank 1
Bell Park 3 d Altona North 2
Melbourne City 2 d Laverton Park 0
Strathmore 2 d Point Cook 1
LADDER: Strathmore 6 points, Hoppers Crossing 6, Melton Phoenix 6, Surf Coast 6, Melbourne City 4, Bell Park 3, Laverton Park 3, Maribyrnong Greens 1, Sebastopol Vikings 0, Point Cook 0, Altona North 0, Brimbank Stallions 0.
RESERVES
Vikings 4 d Hoppers Crossing 1
LADDER: Sebastopol Vikings 6 points, Strathmore 4, Altona North 4, Bell Park 3, Surf Coast 3, Maribyrnong Greens 3, Melbourne City 3, Brimbank Stallions 2, Laverton Park 1, Melton Phoenix 1, Hoppers Crossing 1, Point Cook 1.