Why wouldn't it?

FT: NorthcoteCity 1 (Dekker 57') BRedDevils 3 (Swinton 31', Karras 36', S.Romein 76')

Forza Box Hill! Great start to the season for them

Lozanovski unhappy with officials
By Tomasz Ng



Northcote City coach Goran Lozanovski has voiced his displeasure at some of the refereeing decisions in their 3-1 loss to Ballarat Red Devils, and has called for action to be taken.

Lozanovski was sent to the stands after some incessant protesting to the official during the contest, with a penalty decision in the second half the tipping point for the Northcote boss.

While he wass disappointed to be sent off the ground, Lozanovski had this to say.

“What kills me and quote me on this – what kills me is that you work ever so hard to get yourself back into the game and I don’t normally say this but the referee’s made a bad decision, we should’ve had a penalty on Rixon and we didn’t.

“Five minutes later the scenario was probably a little bit lighter, not as forceful as Rico’s was, and he’s given a penalty so that sort of inconsistency for me is what frustrates me and that was a turning point.”

Just prior to the penalty decision, Lozanovski was also unhappy with the fashion in which the referee handled the situation, with play was waved on despite Evan Kounavelis being floored following a late tackle.

“He got clobbered way after the ball’s delivered and he continues to play on and Evan was on the ground hurt so things like this sort of get coaches over the top and tipped over and it happened to me today,” Lozanovski said.

“Unfortunately I got myself sent off the ground which is disappointing but decisions like that make or break a team and as far as I’m concerned I could lose my job over it. I’m not going to accept that sort of stuff and the NPL needs to pick up their act on officials.”

Despite all that however, Lozanovski conceded the result was far from acceptable, with his side creating a multitude of chances to score against Ballarat.

“It was disgusting the result today,” he said.

“In saying that I thought we played ok and had a lot of possession and created some half chances, half opportunities and probably had enough opportunities to win a couple of games.

“They punished us with two balls, one over the top and one in the guts and scored two great goals and no disrespect to Ballarat, they had a game plan, they stuck to it and it worked for them.”

When all else fails, blame the refs. :lol:

In fairness to Loza - there is a feeling through a number of the 'metro' clubs that the regional sides will mysteriously get the rub of the green from referees throughout this season.

In fairness to Loza - there is a feeling through a number of the 'metro' clubs that the regional sides will mysteriously get the rub of the green from referees throughout this season.

i read it as its my fault we lost .... face it 0 from 3 you are the previous years champs no excuses seems that letting milos go has really hurt the forward line as well

highlights

Bentleigh Greens v Pascoe Vale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gasi5EoYdyo

Lucky if there was 100 people at this game.

Bad news for the knights Jacob colosimo has done his knee suspected acl awaiting further testing ...

I heard FC Bendigo got a good turnout.

Due to poor pitch conditions at Olympic Village caused by this week's rain, FFV wishes to advise that Sunday's match between Heidelberg United FC and Ballarat Red Devils has been postponed to Easter Monday (April 21).

The U20s will kick off at 1pm, seniors at 3pm at Olympic Village #NPLVIC

Clubs Feel Young Devil's Pain
By Julian Trantino (@jtrantino16)


Ballarat's U20 NPL player Jake Francis in action for the the Victorian NTC team in 2012

It’s one of the most dreaded injuries in football, and one which can end a career.

On Saturday March 29, Jake Francis lay in agony on the pitch, daring not to look below his knees and fearing the worst.

The talented midfielder, who was playing for Ballarat Red Devils away to Goulburn Valley Suns in the National Premier Leagues (NPL) U20s, had copped the full brunt of a non-malicious tackle which broke both the tibia and fibula bones in his leg.

And if that ordeal wasn’t horrific enough, the match was abandoned as the brave 16-year-old was forced to wait 100 minutes for paramedics to arrive on the scene at Shepparton’s McEwen Reserve.

“I didn’t see the incident, but from all accounts it wasn’t the worst tackle and just one of those ones that happen every now and again, but we were really disappointed for Jake [Francis],” Ballarat chairman Duncan Smith said.

The incident shocked onlookers, who had come expecting the NPL seniors to kick off at 6.30, but were instead greeted by an ambulance parked in the middle of the pitch.

At 6.45, Francis was wheeled off in the stretcher and consoled by Ballarat’s senior players and staff, among them player-coach James Robinson.

The seniors finally kicked off minutes later, and despite losing a thrilling 3-2 match in the final 10 seconds to Ballarat, the shattering loss was almost insignificant to Goulburn Valley coach Melvyn Wilkes.

“On the Sunday after the match, I was trying to get some contact information for Jake [Francis] and tried the local Shepparton hospital. It was a bit hard because I’m new to the area and everyone’s sort of new to me,” Wilkes explained.

“I did manage to get a contact and I’m not sure if it was a family contact or family friend, but she said that Jake had been transferred to Ballarat.

“She told me the severity of the injury and I got in touch with Duncan Smith, the chairman of Ballarat, and just passed on our best wishes.”

Wilkes, a former Manchester City player, said he was no stranger to witnessing horrific injuries and could sympathise with Francis, who successfully underwent surgery last week and is expected to make a full recovery despite being in a wheelchair for the next fortnight.

“I’ve dealt with some players at a professional level in the UK who have been on the end of severe injuries. A lot of the time, and this was what the Ballarat doctor was alluding to, once a player’s injured they’re always sort of forgotten about,” the Englishman said.

“The minute they get better again, they seem to come back on the radar and as I said to Duncan [Smith], we have a duty of care not just to our players at the Goulburn Valley Suns, but to the players in general in Australia.

“Something like this brings home the fact that there’s bigger things to worry about in the world. The kid here has had a career-threatening injury, and yet there’s still people moaning about other nonsense in life.”

At the time of writing, Wilkes said Goulburn Valley was preparing for a hamper to be sent to Francis to “help out Jake and his family”.

Smith said he and the Ballarat fraternity appreciated Goulburn Valley’s thoughtful gesture.

“I was pleased that the coach [Wilkes] called me and also the chairman of the club sent me an email about their concerns,” Smith said.

“He’s [Francis] a Ballarat boy who has come through the academy here. He’s a very talented player, comes from a good family and he’s got a bright future ahead of him.

“He even came in on his wheelchair on the weekend to watch some of the academy game in Ballarat, and a lot of the boys when up to him to see how he was going.

“We’ll just do whatever we possibly can for him.”

Though still coming to grips with the season-ending injury to one of its much-loved local products, the mood is buoyant at Ballarat, with its senior team registering a perfect start to the season with wins against Goulburn Valley and Northcote City.

“To have played two matches and won them both, one being the longest trip in the league up to Shepparton and then of course to beat the premier team from last season at their home ground 3-1, it’s a dream start,” Smith said.

Smith said that while Ballarat may have been underestimated at the start of the NPL season, its form was making the rest of the NPL competition stand up and take notice.

“I was in there [at Northcote City] getting a beer at halftime and there were half a dozen old blokes around who weren’t even sure where Ballarat was,” Smith recalled.

“Someone asked, ‘where is Ballarat?’ and another said, ‘oh I think it’s up near Bendigo in the bush somewhere’. I just had a bit of a giggle to myself, but I’m sure by the end of the game they found out where Ballarat was.

“We’re going to get that for who knows how long, but hopefully people will start realising that we’re not just a bunch of country hicks.”

For Smith, the most pleasing aspect of Ballarat’s barnstorming start is that it has come on the back of its local talent.

“Out of the starting 11 on Saturday, there were eight players who have come out of the Ballarat academy, and then the three players who came off the bench all came through the Ballarat academy.”

“That makes the win even more special, remarkable or whatever word you want to use...it says a lot about what’s going on up here in Ballarat.”

With the long road to recovery ahead of him, Ballarat will be hoping that another of its locals, Francis, can successfully return and also one day fulfil his potential in the NPL.