Saturday afternoon saw a sunny Esther Park host round 1 of the men’s State League 2 South-East season, with Barkers hosting Old Scotch. Scotch were denied a shot at the 2021 league title by the curtailment of the season, and had won a remarkable match 5-4 at Esther Park last season, so this would be a tough early test for Barkers. The home side gave debuts to Nick Andrejic and Arash Sadeghi, while veteran Brett Tronconi was beginning his 16th season as a Barker, spanning 22 years.
After 7 minutes Barkers won a corner on the right. Liam Seaye hit it to the near post, but it was chested out for another corner. This time Seaye hit it to the far post, where Tronconi leapt like a salmon to head home for the first goal of the season – 1-0 Barkers.
Just after the quarter-hour, Barkers raided won the left wing. A low cross was put in for new recruit Geordie Scott. He didn’t connect, but his presence forced OS defender Thomas Falconer to turn the ball into his own net for 2-0 Barkers. Half-time Mooroolbark 2 Old Scotch 0.
The second half began dramatically when the referee collapsed with severe cramp and had to be replaced. On the hour Scotch had a shot from the edge of the box, which forced Barkers keeper Mark Naumowicz to turn the ball round his post. Then on 70 minutes Sadeghi attacked for the hosts and found Maxim Solovyev. He nutmegged his man, but his return pass to Sadeghi was blocked.
Scotch refused to lie down, and eventually won a penalty. Up stepped Jon Beamish, who placed the ball to Naumowicz’s left, but the Barkers keeper saved brilliantly.
Barkers went back upfield and Sean Perrin had a shot blocked. The ball fell to Seaye, who drilled the ball low into the opposite corner of the net to give Barkers a 3-0 lead.
With less than 2 minutes left of the 90, Scotch crossed from the right to the far post, where Samuel Jovanovic executed a superb overhead kick to put the ball beyond Naumowicz’s grasp and into the net for 3-1. It was always going to take something special to beat Naumowicz, and this was it. On 91 minutes a quick Barkers free kick almost deceived the Scotch keeper, but the ball reared up and off his chest. On 97 minutes Scotch crossed dangerously from the right to the far post, but Barkers cleared for a corner. The corner came in from the left, but the header was straight at Naumowicz. Final score Mooroolbark 3 Old Scotch 1.
Barkers deserved this encouraging start – they defended solidly and counter-attacked with purpose. Scotch also showed enough today to suggest that they will again be one of the contenders in this league. Next for Barkers is another home game next Saturday, against Brandon Park. Another of the fancied sides in this league, Brandon Park began their campaign with a 2-2 draw away to Monbulk Rangers.
