FIXED TARGET: Daniel Andreazza keeps his eye on the ball during yesterday's game.
HANWOOD Football Club once again suffered from its lapses in concentration when it drew 2-all against Cobram Soccer Club at Hanwood yesterday.
The local side looked to walk away winners when they were up 2-1 with three minutes to go, but a soft goal by Cobram denied Hanwood the taste of victory in their last game of the regular season.
Hanwood coach Anthony Agresta said it was a disappointing end to a hard-fought game but served as a lesson to the men in blue and white.
“A couple of weeks ago the same thing happened with (Shepparton) South, we had a lapse in concentration and let a silly goal in in the last minutes,” Agresta said.
“Like I’ve said all year, if you have those lapses in concentration, these teams are going to take advantage of it.
“It’s something we’ve got to rectify before finals next week – we’ve got to play the full 90 minutes.”
Hanwood looked like it would dominate the game from the first whistle, grabbing possession and attacking Cobram’s goal early in the game.
But despite a number of chances to open their account, Hanwood couldn’t find the back of the net and second-placed Cobram began to step up the pace.
Possession evened out with both sides having opportunities to score a goal but it was Cobram at the 30-minute mark that put on the first points.
Hanwood stepped up their efforts and Jason Bertacco was able to grab the equaliser, despite having two Cobram defenders on his tail.
At the second-half whistle, Hanwood came out of the blocks firing and looked to grab a goal early but were denied after the referee called a penalty for pushing.
Cobram then seized the opportunity to take the lead but their goal was also denied for being offside.
Spurred on, Hanwood camped in front of Cobram’s goal and were rewarded when a brilliant shot into the goal took them into the lead for the first time in the match.
Determined not to walk away the losers, Cobram fired up and threw everything they had at Hanwood’s goal.
But Hanwood’s defenders were impenetrable as they shut the Tigers down at every opportunity.
It looked like Hanwood’s defensive efforts had secured them the win but a last-gasp effort by Cobram saw the visitors chip one over the HFC goalkeeper’s head and make the score 2-all.
Despite seeing the victory slip through their fingers, Agresta said he was pleased with his men’s performance.
“A lot of positives came out of the game,” he said.
“We’ve shown if we want to have a go we’ll have a go and we just need to work on those lapses in concentration.”