By Rusty Woodger (@rustywoodger)

FC Bendigo has recorded an historic maiden win in the NPL 1 after a gutsy 3-2 victory over North Geelong Warriors at Elcho Park.

Late goals from Matthew Townley and Nikola Jurkovic were not enough for the Warriors, after the visitors raced to a 3-0 lead through goals from George Slefendorfas and a double from Matthew Breeze.

Spectators had barely settled into their seats when North Geelong ‘keeper Frano Saric spilled a regulatory cross, allowing Slefendorfas to pounce and put Bendigo ahead in the third minute.

Moments later, Bendigo nearly added a second when Trent Waterson failed to control his free header at the back post.

With bottom-of-the-table Bendigo enjoying the better of play, the Warriors pushed forward and should have equalised when Michael Boyar blazed high over the crossbar from point-blank range.

The home side were made to rue its missed chance shortly after when Breeze’s rocket from 30 yards doubled Bendigo’s advantage.

The referee’s halftime whistle could not come quick enough for North Geelong, which looked like an outfit shocked and devoid of ideas.

Reardo Luka worked hard up front, but lacked quality service from his midfielders. 

Things went from bad to worse for the Warriors early in the second half when Reha Kurul’s back pass fell straight into the path of Breeze, who bundled it past Saric for his second.

Despite going three goals down, there was still plenty of time left on the clock, and North Geelong would have remained hopeful of snaring a result against a Bendigo side which has struggled to close out games this season.

Ante Skoko’s side pushed forward as the game wore on, and eventually pegged one back in the 71st minute after Townley powered his header past Sebastian Mattei.

The goal sparked a mini-fracas between Bendigo and North Geelong players, with the referee momentarily halting the game in an effort to restore calm.

Tensions nearly boiled over again after the restart, however, when Kurul was lucky to avoid being sent off following a high challenge.

With North Geelong finally on the scoresheet, Bendigo suddenly found itself on the back foot.

Robert Zadworny nearly pulled another goal back for the Warriors when his strike agonisingly sailed past the goal post after leaving Mattei flat-footed.

Substitute Jurkovic’s finish amid a goalmouth scramble in added time provided a glimmer of hope for North Geelong.

But time was never on the Warriors’ side, with Bendigo’s initial dominance enough for it to hold on for a famous win.

After the game, winning coach Steve Martin said his side’s victory was a milestone for the Bendigo region.

“It’s an exciting time for the area, because we’ve never had a senior professional team,” Martin said.

“We’re looking forward to the rest of the year. We may have our ups and downs, but long-term we’re excited.”

North Geelong assistant coach Ivan Skoko said his team “still has a long way to go”, but maintained there were positives to be taken out of the loss.

“We had a 16-year-old Nikola Jurkovic that scored at the end there – that’s just great future for the club,” Skoko said.

“But we just need some more leaders. I think we lacked one or two leaders out there today.”
Next weekend, North Geelong faces a tough trip to Sunshine, while Bendigo hosts Dandenong City.

MATCH DETAILS

NORTH GEELONG WARRIORS 2 (Townley 72’, Jurkovic 90+2’) defeated by FC BENDIGO 3 (Slefendorfas 3’, Breeze 38’, 47’) at Elcho Park [HT: 0-2]

NORTH GEELONG WARRIORS: 22. Frano SARIC (GK), 52. Reha KURUL, 99. Nathan LONG, 2. Darren LEWIS, 35. Matthew TOWNLEY, 17. Nicholas JURCIC (3. James DUVCEVSKI 85’), 23. Michael BOYAR, 8. Vito CICHELLO (36. Nikola JURKOVIC 52’), 10. Robert ZADWORNY, 16. Michael GRGIC, 7. Reardo LUKA

UNUSED SUBS: 1. Hamish FLAVELL, 4. Nathan COOK, 30. Callum FERGUSON

YELLOW CARDS: Matthew TOWNLEY (28’), Reha KURUL (73’), Michael GRGIC (87’)

RED CARDS: None

FC BENDIGO: 1. Sebastian MATTEI (GK), 2. Tom SHAPER, 5. Josh ROMEIN, 6. Alon BLUMGART, 7. Trent WATERSON, 8. Victor RODRIGUEZ, 9. George SLEFENDORFAS, 10. Matthew BREEZE, 13. Finn HUZZEY, 14. Ryan DAVIDSON, 16. Steve MARTIN (11. Amara KROMAH 70’)

UNUSED SUBS: 12. Josh NAUNTON, 15. Zackary KINSMAN, 17. Johnathan RYAN, 22. Christopher XERRI

YELLOW CARDS: Amara KROMAH (74’)

RED CARDS: None