Sebastopol Vikings landed their first goal in just seven minutes and did not look back, securing a 3-1 victory over Ballarat North United in the Ballarat and District Soccer Association on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The winning margin could have been even greater with some missed chances for the reigning champions in a division one open grand final rematch at Morshead Stadium.
While the Vikings led by two goals at the main break, North came out strongly after half time but just could not capitalise on scoring opportunities. Sebastopol managed one more goal before North replied with its first for the game. Sebastopol had three more late shots on goal but could not add to its tally.
Sebastopol coach Sam Young estimated his players had missed about eight scoring opportunities in total.
“The boys were a bit flat after the game just based on that, but we got the win – we just would have hoped for a few more goals,” he said.
“We just need to work on finishing it off that last little bit, but the most positive thing is the amount of chances we did create and we moved the ball around well and kept possession. We will look to try and score a few more goals next week.”
But, while the undefeated Vikings did not dominant the game as much as they would have liked, they remain on top of the ladder after stringing together four consecutive victories to start the season.
“I’m really pleased with it,” Young said.
“The boys are doing a really good job, we have had some ins and outs each week but we are setting up really well each week and taking each game as it comes and getting the job done as soon as we can.”
The Vikings coach said centre-back Samuel Coxall had been solid all season, Josiah Miranda played a really strong game in central midfield and Brendon Bosher was outstanding despite being the culprit of a few missed shots – he scored two goals and made some good runs in behind the defence.