By David Manuca (@davidmanuca)

FC Bendigo has picked up its third straight win in with a strong 2-0 victory over a lacklustre Sunshine George Cross at Chaplin Reserve on Saturday afternoon.

The away side took the lead after 22 minutes from the penalty spot through former George Cross player Trent Waterson.

Sunshine had the chance to equalise from another first-half spot kick but Delfin Mosibe’s effort was saved by Bendigo goalkeeper Sebastian Mattei.

Bendigo capitalised and doubled its advantage just three minutes into the second half when Matthew Breeze’s corner deflected off teammate Jonathan Ryan and into the back of the net.

The contest never reached any great heights, with the first shot on goal coming after eight minutes when Bendigo’s Josh Dwyer’s hit was saved by Sunshine’s debutant goalkeeper Anthony Murana.

Sunshine’s first shot came a minute later but Jacob Attard’s strike was blocked by Ryan.

The first real opportunity on goal fell to Sunshine’s Mosibe, but his attempted chip was hit over the crossbar.

The miss proved costly as Bendigo went down the other end and scored five minutes later through Waterson’s spot kick after Breeze was fouled in the box by Christopher Dib.

Just 10 minutes later, the home side had a penalty of its own when Mosibe was brought down in the box by Steve Martin.

Mosibe took responsibility but his penalty attempt was weak and easily saved by Mattei.

The last chances of the half fell to Sunshine with Mosibe’s cross finding Chris Oghanna at the back post, but he couldn’t direct his header on target.

Anthony Cassar was then played through on goal and lobbed over an on-rushing Mattei, but he struck over the crossbar as well.

Bendigo took command of the game on 48 minutes when a Breeze corner caused problems in the box, with Ryan seemingly getting the final touch as the ball trickled into the back of the net.

Sunshine’s first genuine chance of the second half fell to Oghanna, but he scuffed his shot after not realizing he had much more time to take a touch and compose himself.

The referee awarded Sunshine a dangerous free kick with 15 minutes to go but a great save from Mattei denied Damian Rastocic a goal after Sami Nour’s initial effort came off the wall.

From then until the final whistle it was all Bendigo, with substitute Daniel Purdey spurning two great opportunities to make it 3-0.

In the end it did not matter as Bendigo held on for a third consecutive clean sheet and a fifth win for the season.

Bendigo player-coach Steve Martin was pleased with his side’s resilience at the back and contributed it to their ability to take the three points for the third week in a row.

“It wasn’t pretty, but for us to have a clean sheet for the third week in a row is really pleasing,” Martin said.

“The boys grinded it out and especially in the second half we stood solid and I’m really happy with the result.”

Sunshine George Cross assistant coach Renato Liberto was disappointed with his side’s performance but put the loss down to a lack of experience.

“It was disappointing. I think in the first half we had our chances, didn’t think it was a penalty, I couldn’t see it exactly from there and then we had our penalty which was poorly taken and changes the dynamics of the game,” Liberto said.

“I thought we were the dominant side in the first half. The second half a little bit of discipline let us down. The whole midfield four were between 16 and 18.”

Match Details

Sunshine George Cross 0 lost to FC Bendigo 2 (Waterson pen. 22’, Ryan 48’) at Chaplin Reserve [HT: 0-1]

Sunshine George Cross: 21. Anthony MURANA, 17. Jacob ATTARD, 3. Eddie CETKIN, 5. Christopher DIB, 3. Nejdett SAHIN (7. James XYDIAS 81’), 10. Adrian LOGOZZO, 18. Lewis SHANNON, 12. Damian RASTOCIC, 15. Chris OGHANNA, 14. Anthony CASSAR (4. Abdelgabbar ABDELGABBAR 72’), 8. Delfin MOSIBE (13. Sami NOUR 60’).

Unused substitutes: 16. Chris SUTERA

Yellow cards: Christopher Dib 21’, Jacob Attard 89’

Red cards: Nil

FC Bendigo: 1. Sebastian MATTEI, 4. Aaron COHEN, 5. Josh ROMEIN (18. Daniel PURDEY 70’), 6. Alon BLUMGART, 7. Trent WATERSON, 8. Viktor RODRIGUEZ, 10. Matthew BREEZE, 14. Ryan DAVIDSON, 15. Josh DWYER, 16. Steve MARTIN, 17. Jonathan RYAN.

Unused substitutes: 2. Tom SHAPER, 12. Jarrod STYLES, 22. Chris XERRI

Yellow cards: Steve Martin 31’

Red cards: Nil