By Rusty Woodger (@rustywoodger)

North Geelong has claimed a big scalp at Elcho Park today with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over a 10-man Bulleen side.

Michael Boyar’s late winner secured the three points for the Warriors, after Vito Cichello’s spectacular long-range effort had earlier cancelled out Joseph Katebian’s opener for Bulleen.

In what started out as a fiery encounter between both sides, the Lions enjoyed the better of the early chances, and should have gone ahead when Paul Harvey rounded North Geelong ‘keeper Frano Saric, only to shoot into the side netting with the goal at his mercy.

The visitors did not repeat the same mistake minutes later, when the ever-threatening Katebian finished off a dashing run from halfway with a cool finish past the advancing Saric.

After going down a goal, North Geelong pressed further forward, and was quickly rewarded when Cichello scored what may go down as one of the goals of the season – blasting the ball into the top-left corner from 30 yards out.

Brimming with confidence after their equaliser, the Warriors began taking control of the game, with Robert Zadworny’s dashing runs down the left side causing headaches for Bulleen’s defence.

The match took a huge swing in North Geelong’s favour just before halftime when Lions captain Matteo Ballan was given his marching orders for bringing down Mark Paleka as he raced away for a one-on-one opportunity on goal.

With its third red card in the space of two games, Bulleen’s undermanned side came out after the main break showing signs of a weary outfit.

The Lions’ usual threats up forward, Harvey and Katebian, struggled to get into the game in the second half as the Warriors defence tightly marked the pair.

In the 75th minute, North Geelong nearly went ahead when Paleka’s bullet free-kick from 25 yards forced a good save from Bulleen custodian Fraser Maclaren.

Moments later, Reha Kurul thought he had scored the Warriors the crucial goal from one metre out, but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman flagging him offside.

As the game crept towards added time, North Geelong raced forward on the counter-attack, with the ball finding its way to Boyar’s feet on the edge of the area.

Bulleen’s defence was slow to close the Warriors midfielder down, and Boyar pounced on the opportunity, curling the ball past Maclaren’s fingertips and into the back of the net.

After the final whistle, North Geelong coach Ante Skoko said his side was fortunate to snare the three points, despite playing with an extra man for the entire second half.

“I said to the boys at halftime: ‘Be very wary hunting that second goal against good opposition’,” Skoko said.

“And, look, we stuck to our task, stuck to the shape and didn’t hurry, and we left it to the last minute (to score the winner).”

Bulleen coach Fabrizio Soncin remained upbeat despite his side’s first loss of the season, saying pre-game injuries and the red card had left him with limited options.

“Once the player got sent off, our back-up plan went out the window,” Soncin said.

“The boys gave it everything they had, and that’s all I can ask.”

Both sides enjoy a break next week, with North Geelong returning to action at Kingston City on April 26, while Bulleen hosts Dandenong City two days later.

MATCH DETAILS

NORTH GEELONG WARRIORS 2 (Cichello 27’, Boyer 89’) defeated BULLEEN LIONS 1 (Katebian 21’) at Elcho Park [HT: 1-1]

NORTH GEELONG WARRIORS: 22. Frano SARIC (GK), 52. Reha KURUL, 99. Nathan LONG, 2. Darren LEWIS, 35. Matthew TOWNLEY, 4. Nathan COOK, 17. Nicholas JURCIC, 23. Michael BOYAR, 8. Vito CICHELLO, 10. Robert ZADWORNY, 14. Mark PALEKA

SUBSTITUTES: 1. Daniel ZILIC, 9. Michael ANDERSON, 16. Michael GRGIC, 30. Jackson DAVIS, 36. Nicola JURKOVIC

YELLOW CARDS: None

RED CARDS: None

BULLEEN LIONS: 1. Fraser MACLAREN, 5. Lewis WADDELL, 8. Matteo BALLAN, 9. Bardhi HYSOLI, 12. Matt DIMECH, 13. Dean LORENZI, 14. Edison PONARI, 31. Dylan BRESOLIN, 20. Davide CARDAMONE, 19. Paul HARVEY, 33. Joseph KATEBIAN

SUBSTITUTES: 15. Alexander TOMASELLI, 16. Jack GOW, 29. Matthew AUGELIC, 21. Gian TAPIA

YELLOW CARDS: Paul HARVEY (44’), Edison PONARI (47’), Joseph KATEBIAN (90+2’)

RED CARDS: Matteo BALLAN (40’)