By Tonci Prusac

Whittlesea Ranges and Sunshine George Cross shared the spoils in a highly entertaining 1-1 draw at a cold and windswept Epping Stadium on Friday night.

It was a game of two halves as the home side scored in the first half through New Zealand import Tomislav Trbuhovich, while Sunshine equalised in the second half courtesy of a Manuell Sadik goal, following a period of total dominance by the visitors.

The in-form Ranges went into the Round 16 clash looking to record their third win on the trot, while George Cross was looking to address a woeful run of four losses in the past five games.

It was the Sunshine which had the best of the early chances, when a powerful shot at goal from close range was successfully parried away by Whittlesea goalkeeper Gregory Lascaris.

Moments later, in the 11th minute, the visitors earned the first corner of the game, as Sunshine midfielder Lewis Shannon started asserting his dominance across the middle of the park.

Nonetheless, just five minutes later, it was the home side that took the lead through the only real clear-cut scoring chance of the opening half.

Trbuhovich earned a corner for the home side, following some bustling play in the box.

From the resulting corner kick, the diminutive John Reale crossed a delightfully weighted ball to the waiting Trbuhovich at the back post, whose precise header found the back of the net for the opener.

The Ranges had an opportunity to double their lead in the 29th minute, after Sunshine 'keeper Lucas Spinella fumbled a long ball forward, but Whittlesea attacker Matthew Iuliano failed to pounce, allowing Spinella to regain his composure, as well as the loose ball.

Both sides had half-hearted chances in the dying stages to get on the scoreboard, but the score remained 1-0 as the players retreated to the sheds at halftime.

George Cross came out all guns blazing in the second half and the Whittlesea defenders found themselves under a constant siege.

In the 58th minute, Anthony Cassar's goal-bound shot was spectacularly saved by Whittlesea 'keeper Lascaris, who was having a magnificent game between the sticks.

Unfortunately for the home side, Lascaris was unable to stop George Cross finally finding the equaliser in the 73rd minute.

Sunshine striker Manuell Sadik, one of the second half's best players, found himself on the end of a perfectly weighted long ball to the back post as he slid the ball over the goal line for a well deserved goal to the visitors.

In a frenetic final 10 minutes, it was real end-to-end action as both sides surged forward in search of a match-winning effort.

Sunshine came the closest to breaking the deadlock in the 87th minute, but it was Lascaris who once again played the role of the hero, as he managed to parry a thunderbolt from long range onto the crossbar and watch with relief as the ball bounced away to safety.

After the match, the opposing coaches displayed completely different emotions.

Whittlesea coach Vinko Buljubasic was a satisfied man while his George Cross counterpart, Tony Ciantar, was one unhappy camper.

"If you don't score goals, you don't win games," lamented a disappointed Ciantar, who had just arrived back in Australia on Monday following a five-week holiday in Brazil at the World Cup.

"We totally dominated possession tonight, we just weren't clinical enough in the final third of the park. I'm disappointed we gave away a soft goal early on, which forced us to chase for the rest of the game,” Ciantar concluded.

Buljubasic was understandably a relieved man.

"At the end of the day, it's a fair result. We didn't capitalise on our chances in the first half, they (Sunshine) wanted it more in the second half and we were lucky to come away with a point,” Buljubasic said.

"The players were a bit tired in the end, but I can't fault their effort after having picked up six points in our last two games away from home. We're certainly on the improve so I am reasonably happy.”

In Round 17 action, next week, Whittlesea is faced with the toughest assignment in the NPL 1 when it takes on runaway league leader Avondale Heights, while Sunshine is at home to mid-table Moreland Zebras.

MATCH DETAILS

Round 16, 2014: Whittlesea Ranges 1 (Trbuhovich 16’) drew Sunshine George Cross 1 (Sadik 73’) at Epping Stadium [HT: 1-0]

Whittlesea Ranges: 1. Gregory LASCARIS (GK), 6. Andrew TAYLOR, 9. Kliment DIMITRIESKI, 10. Matthew IULIANO, 13. Adem MUSTEDANAGIC , 14. Daniel PELUSO (17. Girolamo COSTANZA 86'), 18. Nicholas SARBIN, 15. John REALE, 23. Daniel SOTIROPOULOS, 12. Tomislav TRBUHOVICH (25. Daniel GIOGHA 77'), 24 Rami MUSTAFOSKI.

Unused subs: 20. Chris STOJCEVSKI, 16 Mile RISTOV, 2. Dianoush RASOULZADEN- SEYSAN

Yellow cards: N. SARBIN 83'.

Red cards: None

Sunshine George Cross: 21. Lucas SPINELLA (GK), 2. Eddie CETKIN, 4. Tom REILLY, 8. Chris OGHANNA, 5. Christopher DIB, 10. Adrian LOGOZZO (16. Matthew OGHANNA 86'), 6 Damien RASTOCIC, 15. Manuell SADIK, 18 Lewis SHANNON (17. Jacob ATTARD 17'), 14. Anthony CASSAR, 9. Nick MARINOS (9. Bozidar LOJANICA 65').

Unused substitutes: 1. Nabi TUNA, 13. Kojo BROWN

Yellow cards: None

Red cards: None

Image credit: Graeme Furlong