New life in the City

By Gavin Staindl
HOSTING its first night match at Jack Thomas Reserve, Berwick City sparked life back into its season with a 3-2 win over Croydon Arrows on Friday night.
Since the round one win over Doveton, Berwick has faded to three losses, but a switched on City showed it was no stranger to the spotlight.
Hundreds of fans braved the chilly conditions to watch, but their jitters soon turned to cheers as captain Orlando Mejias narrowly converted a penalty to give Berwick a 1-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Croydon responded within five minutes to level.
But Mejias was back to his brutal best as he bustled his way forward to cause a game-defining turnover.
Blocking the attempted clearance kick by the Croydon keeper, Mejias bowled over a defender to get to the loose ball and calmly slotted the goal to take his team to half-time a goal up.
While Steve Carr decided midweek he no longer wanted to remain at Jack Thomas Reserve and keeper Richard Marnell in hospital recovering from life-saving surgery, newcomers Dennis Martin and Simon O’Donnell were busy making a name for themselves.
Sixteen-year-old Martin had no trouble in his second game as keeper, handling the dewy ball, while newly-signed striker O’Donnell was impressive up forward.
Youngster James Ashby had the game of his life, moving from defence to the midfield, where he generated space and capped the game off with a cracking running goal.
For the first time this season, Berwick City stood out as the dominant team and coach Tom O’Halloran said they earned the three points.
“We really did deserve the three points,” O’Halloran said.
“We created lots of chances, but we still turned the ball over going forward.
“We conceded two goals but the defence was better than it has been.”
In the other local Division Two match, Doveton dropped a few spots on the ladder when it lost 1-0 to Fitzroy at Waratah Reserve on Saturday, while Division Two side Casey Comets also missed out on a chance to snatch points from Box Hill United, drawing 1-1 at Comets Stadium.
In Provisional League Division Two, Endeavour United gave up a half-time lead to draw 2-2 with Boroondara Eagles at Reema Reserve, while Keysborough also had a 2-2 draw with Caulfield at Victory Park.
But the Casey Kings had their first major win of the season, smashing the University of Melbourne 5-0 at Betula Park.