When Melbourne Knights penalty specialist Jacob Colosimo generously handed hat-trick teammate Rodrigo Covarrubias a spot kick in the season opener – which Covarrubias promptly missed – he was given a firm rebuke by the coaching staff.
So when the Knights were awarded a second penalty in as many National Premier League games in the 2-0 win against Pascoe Vale at Hosken Reserve on Friday night, Colosimo issued a firm ‘get out of my way’ to the other 10 players.
With the score at 0-0 and the off-colour Knights in a spot of bother for the first time this season, Colosimo stepped up and hit the back of the net.
He added a second in open play to ensure his club dodged a bullet and picked up three hard-earned points on a testing road trip.
Knights captain Ben Surey admitted the game was far from cut and dried before Colosimo’s brace. “You just have to scrap it out sometimes,” he told the Weekly.
The Knights have barely put a foot wrong in this young season. They hit all their preseason marks and clinched wins in the opening rounds of the NPL and the Dockerty Cup.
There was cause for concern this time when coach Andrew Marth greeted his players in the rooms at the half-time break.
“We were a little bit fortunate to go into the break 0-0,” Surey said. “We were letting them play a little bit more than we usually want and we were giving it away quite cheaply.
“We couldn’t get into any rhythm in the first half, but they also made it hard, pressured right up and forced us into playing long balls rather than passing to feet.”
It was as if a weight was taken off the shoulders of the Knights players when James McGarry was brought down in the box by Vales goalkeeper Stefaan Sardelic and Colosimo scored from the spot.
The Knights began to find their groove and create opportunities and it finally told when Daniel Visevic placed a well-weighted ball behind the defence for Colosimo to score the game-clinching goal.
While it was not pretty and it took a resolute performances from goalkeeper Christopher May and centre half Antun Kovacic to complete the task, the Knights can be content with three valuable points that will be hard to come by for visiting teams to Hosken Reserve this season.
With six points from six, the Knights will go into the clash with Werribee City at Knights Stadium on Sunday as hot favourites.
But Surey warned there would be no easy games in the newly formed NPL.
“You’ve got to make sure you prepare properly because if you go in with the wrong attitude, you’ll get punished,” he said.
Meanwhile, 10-man Dandenong Thunder shocked Green Gully Cavaliers 1-0 at George Andrews Reserve.
The Cavs return home to Green Gully Reserve on Saturday for a massive round three clash with South Melbourne.
