Both opening games in Cup are drawn

Both opening games in the Cup are drawn

Roy Hay

Geelong’s long running pre-season competition kicked off at Bell Park Sports Club on Friday night.

The first two matches in the Morris Finance Cup both ended in one-all draws. The similarities did not end there as Corio and Surfcoast scored within 3 minutes of each other in the second half of their match, as did North Geelong Youth and Surfside Waves in the following encounter.

Both matches were pretty even and while there were passages of good play, it was clear that all four teams were in the early stages of their preparation.

The cohesion and anticipation which comes from regular competition was not yet in evidence, but the fans who filled the grandstand at Batesford were entertained.

Corio took the lead after 63 minutes when referee Mitko Nikolovski awarded a penalty kick for a bit of shirt tugging in the box.

Kristian Edwards scored from the spot.

Three minutes later Surfcoast got a penalty when denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity and Rhys Manning put away the spot kick.

There was a clear contrast of teams and styles in the second match with the slighter North Geelong youngsters using speed and agility to match the physical strength and experience of the Surfside Waves lads.

It was the youngsters who went ahead four minutes after the interval when James Hidic finished off a good build-up.

The lead lasted only a couple of minutes as North’s defenders got in a tangle and Aaron Bond lobbed the ball over the keeper and just under the bar.

Both sides had a couple of chances to settle the match but it ended one-all.

On Sunday night Geelong Rangers takes on host Bell Park at 6 pm, followed by Geelong versus Lara at 7.20 pm.