Kingston City has developed a well-earned reputation for scoring late goals to get a result, reflecting a never-say-die attitude and excellent fitness.
Both these qualities were on display in the NPL1 season opener on Thursday evening, when newly-promoted Kingston scored twice in the final seven minutes to equalise against last season’s grand finalist Oakleigh Cannons at Jack Edwards reserve.
The Cannons looked to be cruising to an unsurprising victory after scoring a goal early in each half. Both goals illustrated its quality in the front third. The first, a trademark spectacular goal from the lethal left boot of Dean Piemonte, was an early contender for goal of the season. From 25 metres out, Piemonte’s chest and volley flew into the net over Kingston keeper Kile Kennedy, who was caught off his line. The second was a clinical first-time finish from Dusan Bosnjak from a fine Dimi Hatzimouratis cut back.
Both keepers made excellent saves during the game, with the Cannons’ John Honos diving full stretch to deny Erhan Yalaz and Stelios Konstantinidis.
At the other end, Kennedy denied Hatzimouratis with a spectacular diving save. Kingston coach Nick Tolios was the first to make changes in the second half soon after Kingston went two goals behind, when he introduced speedy winger Muad Zwed for box to box midfielder Chris Irwin. He also introduced experienced centre forward Sean McIlroy for Konstantinidis mid-way through the half. Both substitutions proved fruitful, as Zwed provided the assist for McIlroy’s 83rd minute goal. With the 90 minutes almost up, Zwed took possession down the left flank and turned his defender Thomas Matthews, who fouled him to concede a penalty. City’s midfielder Velibor Mitrovic coolly sent Honos the wrong way from the spot kick, sparking scenes of celebration and a melee in the goal mouth, during which Cannons’ midfielder Abdalla Okud hit the deck, resulting in a red card for Kingston’s Sean McIlroy. City survived a couple of Cannons’ corners in extra time to come away with a precious first point of the new season.
“Our team will never give up,” said Kingston coach Nick Tolios after the match. “You saw this last year. The boys we brought in this year, they’re all of the same mentality. They all want to work hard, never give up to try and get a result. So for us it was pleasing, but we had a lot of good chances when we let ourselves down in the final third a few times. You can see the polish Oakleigh has. Their front four work so well together. Credit to our boys for coming back. I just explained to them inside, that’s how hard you have to work to get a point in the NPL. I think our fitness came through in the end, for us it’s a point well earned. We know what Mo (Zwed) can do, he’s explosive. The reason he didn’t start is he’s got to get his fitness right. We need players to work hard going forward but also defensively.”
Oakleigh Cannons coach Peter Tsolakis said after the match: “In hindsight, I made a substitution. I took Iqi Jawadi (defensive mid) off and before he even sat down they scored. So I think that was a telling factor. Up till then I thought we absolutely dominated. We had opportunities to put the game to rest but just didn’t have that killer instinct. I thought it was two points lost today. But, first game, there are quite a few positives we can take from this and work on them.”