Charles in charge of cracker

July 2 2013

Shepparton News

An absolute belter from Shepparton new-boy Michael Charles wasn’t enough for Matt Gray’s Shepparton as the Reds were kept to a 1-1 draw against his old side, Cobram Victory.

Charles was actually a transfer target for Cobram Victory in Gray’s time at the club, and a target for Gray again before the season started at Shepparton, but the move could never eventuate.

Gray ended up bringing Stephen Hutchings out from England, whose abrupt decision to head back to England opened the door for Gray to bring in his long-term target.

It was well worth the wait.

‘‘It was an absolute cracker,’’ Gray said.

‘‘Their defender had probably done everything right . . . he’d showed Charles away from goal and he’s just unleashed from 25 yards.’’

Victory coach Craig Carley was equally impressed.

‘‘It was an absolute screamer,’’ Carley said.

‘‘I don’t think any keeper in the world would have saved it, but all credit to our boys for fighting back.’’

It was Carley himself who netted Victory’s equaliser 10 minutes later, when Josh Zito slipped his coach in behind the Shepparton defence.

Carley made no mistake, notching a 12th goal of the season to extend his lead on the goal-scoring chart to three, ahead of Cobram’s Sean Ellis in second place.

Carley’s goal would end the scoring for the day, but it was Gray who felt his side had the better opportunities to seal the three points.

‘‘It really was two points dropped for us,’’ Gray said.

‘‘Lyall Beazely was in fine form . . . we had two or three one-on-ones and I told my forwards that we really had to take those chances.’’

Carley had a different view of the game, saying the result was a fair reflection of the game, and was pleased to see his side show significant improvement on its 6-0 defeat against the same opposition earlier in the season.

‘‘We’ve seen a slight improvement over the last couple of weeks,’’ Carley said.

‘‘At this point we just need to peak at finals, we’re only going to get stronger and fitter.’’

Brad Spencer impressed for Victory, alongside goalkeeper Beazely.

Gray singled out Abdullah Wahidi for his performance in central midfield, while Hussein Sumaili also stood out for the Reds on a day that left Gray disappointed.

‘‘I want to win every game as a coach and I expect that from my team as well,’’ Gray said.

‘‘It was very frustrating because we had the opportunities to win.’’