IDEAL START FROM ROAR

16 February 2015

Shepparton News - Matthew Galea

SPIRITED COBRAM MAKES WINNING DEBUT

Like a lion to the prey, Cobram Roar had to show plenty of killer instinct to get life off to the perfect start in front of a strong home crowd.

Cobram’s new soccer team — the product of a merger between Cobram Soccer Club and Cobram Victory — continued the town’s proud tradition in cup competitions with a 2-1 win against Glen Waverley in the first qualifying round of the FFA Cup.

Michael Startari was the Roar’s hero, netting twice to complete a stunning comeback after Cobram found itself 1-0 down.

It remains early days, but the win puts the Roar on the long, winding road to FFA Cup glory.

Not that anyone at the Roar is thinking that far ahead.

For inaugural Roar coach Adam Gatcum, just getting on the park was an achievement and, while the quality of play was not particularly impressive, the attitude of his players was spot-on.

‘‘You can’t expect high quality in your first game— we haven’t even had a friendly yet,’’ Gatcum said.

‘‘But when the quality is low the effort has to be high and the win was a tremendous team effort.’’

But still, Cobram found the required quality when it needed it.

Glen Waverley took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, but the Cobram response was a strong one and Startari provided the perfect tonic for half-time blues when he levelled the score with one of the last touches of the opening period.

Gatcum showed his class in the middle of the park to wriggle free of his markers and play the former Victory front man in behind the Glen Waverley defence and Startari made no mistake with the finish.