TWO goals to Griffith City Football Club striker Matt White has ensured his side stays unbeaten after it knocked off Hanwood Juniors by two goals at Hanwood Oval on Sunday.
Both sides entered the clash as the form outfits in the local competition in the early rounds, but it was another clinical comeback effort by City that sealed the points.
Griffith City coach Ross Panebianco said his team showed tremendous heart to stay in the hunt against a Juniors side he called a quality outfit.
“It was a similar game to the first week from our point of view, we didn’t play overly well but we didn’t play overly bad in the first half but we still found ourselves behind at half-time,” Panebianco said.
“But we just decided to keep plugging away so we didn’t make a changes like we did the previous week and we just believed in ourselves and that the goals would come.
“Credit to Juniors, they’re on a bit of a high this year, they have picked themselves up and they have a pretty good side this year.
“Once we got he first goal the rest followed. It was a bit like a mental block, once we got it out of the way it lifted all of the players.
Juniors opened their account in the first half and managed to take that narrow lead into the break before White scored his first for the afternoon for the visitors.
He had his double soon after for 2-1, but Juniors began to rally and City goalkeeper Bryce Manweiler – who went to hospital after sustaining rib injuries last week – pulled off a crucial save.
“But he pulled off a pretty good save to keep us in front, so that’s a boost for his confidence as well. Just as scoring goals is good for strikers, stopping them for ’keepers gives them and the team a lift,” Panebianco said.
City young gun Pat Rose sealed his side’s third points with a late goal to seal the three points and signal City's ever-growing ability to finish in front of goal, having scored seven in their first two games.
"It's something we know about and we have scored well in our first two games, and it says that we can play well and dominate," Panebianco said.
"You have to at least bag one, because it's tough to get the result.
"But it's more about when to lift the tempo and how to do it. Goals bring confidence in strikers and they just love scoring.
Greg Bonetti got through a mountain of work in the middle of the field for City and hardly stopped working for the whole 90 minutes.
Juniors will look to bounce back when they take on Yoogali FC this weekend while City will be shooting for their third win as they tackle Wests SC at Coro Club Oval.