Endeavour Hills’ David Nastevski is tackled by Springvale City’s Selim Osmani during the 0-0 draw at Ross Reserve on Saturday. 20624
By Stuart Teather
DOVETON had its worst loss of the year on Saturday, with ladder leader Morwell Pegasus thumping the Doves 7-1 at Waratah Reserve.
Frank Albanese ran rampant for Morwell claiming a hat-trick, while Damien Cassar scored two and Clayton Bell added another.
Perhaps their own worst enemies, the Doves also conceded an own goal, the icing on the cake for a horror day.
The game was not without its controversy, however, as Albanese was not eligible to play after receiving his fifth yellow card the week before, which resulted in an automatic one-week suspension.
However, after an application to Football Federation Victoria (FFV), Albanese was allowed to play against Doveton and miss the next game.
Doveton coach Michael Kupinic was not happy with the decision.
“The FFV has a lot to answer for,” he said. “It’s just ridiculous, they shouldn’t be able to do that.”
Kupinic said he was disappointed his side gave away a couple of easy goals early, which set the tone for the day.
“The first two goals we conceded were just ‘gimmes’, we just gave them away,” he said.
The first goal came from a free kick just outside the box, then not long after some poor communication between goalkeeper and defender saw an own goal headed through, putting the Doves behind the eight ball.
A third goal was scored before half-time, with the Doves caught out of position when Morwell rebounded, and that score held until the break.
“I thought we’d go and reassess for the second half,” Kupinic said. “We got a goal early in the second, and I thought ‘here we go’.”
The game then took an unexpected turn with a dog running across the ground, and Kupinic said it took eight minutes for officials to catch the stray pooch.
He said his side lost concentration after that, and Morwell capitalised, piling on four goals to blow the result out.
While disappointed with the loss, Kupinic remained positive about the rest of the season.
“I’ve got no doubt we’re good enough to finish in the top half of the competition,” he said.
“It’s better to lose one by seven than to lose seven by one.”
In other games, Berwick City fell 1-0 to Boroondara at home on Saturday.
Nathan Alexopoulos scored early for the Eagles, and the side held on to claim the three points.
Neither Springvale City nor Endeavour United could manage a goal in their clash at Ross Reserve, with the draw leaving Springvale City four points out of the top three, and just a game clear of Southern Suburbs in fourth.
In State League Division Two South East, the Casey Comets had a big 4-2 win against Knox City.
The Comets held a one-goal lead going into the break, and after half-time both sides regularly troubled the scorers, with Ben Watson scoring twice, and Paul Presti and Chuol Bichok adding goals for the Comets.
The win sees the Comets draw level with South Springvale, and the side now has a chance to finish in the top half of the draw.
