City to go down, but not out

By Gavin Staindl
BERWICK City coach Tom O’Halloran conceded that relegation was unavoidable after his side’s 2-0 loss to Casey on Saturday, but, with a growing list of youngsters, didn’t expect City to grow content with playing Division Three soccer.
O’Halloran used the cross-town rivalry match against the Comets to continue his program of blooding youngsters.
In his squad of 14, O’Halloran played five under-18s and he could not have been happier with what he saw.
“They’re fantastic,” O’Halloran said. “The enthusiasm has picked up and the opportunity is there for the under-18s to play senior football … which is what we wanted from early July.”
When O’Halloran took over as head coach in July he installed a long-term vision for Berwick that centred around the development of juniors rather than the focus on results.
“We’re going to be relegated, we know that, but we have to look forward and not back.
“Over the next two weeks we’ll open up a couple more places for juniors.
“It has been really satisfying already seeing the kids coming through and applying themselves at training too,” O’Halloran said.
One junior that made an impact on Saturday was 15-year-old David Di Iorio who nearly scored his first senior goal.
After goals from Casey’s Paul Presti and Brendan Elmazovski put the Comets up 2-0, Di Iorio ripped into a long shot that cannoned into the bar and was cleared away.
It was the second time in the match that Berwick had the misfortune of hitting the bar.
“When you’re at the bottom those things just don’t go your way,” O’Halloran said.
In other leagues, Doveton is beginning to pull away from the pack in Provisional One after it dealt Warragul United a 3-1 belting at Baxter Park.
Grant Lane was back on the scorers list as Doveton, who benefited from Old Scotch’s loss, now moves four points clear in first position.
With three rounds left, Endeavour United will have to be content with the mediocrity of being stuck in the middle of the Provisional Two table.
Endeavour was beaten by Skye 4-2 at Skye Recreational Reserve that ruled out any minute chance Endeavour had of reaching the top two. The Berwick Kings also sit midrange and remain clear of relegation danger, despite only taking one point from the Caulfield Cobras.
The shootout between the season’s two most improved teams culminated in a 3-3 draw at Victory Park.