In the end, it was the one that got away for Murray United.
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The Border NPL 2 outfit was kept to a 1-1 by Eastern Lions in the first game of their NPL 2 campaign at Wodonga’s La Trobe University on Saturday.
Murray’s defence was pressured early, but the hosts grabbed the lead through a well-placed strike from Tom Morrison in the 55th minute, after the Lions were denied by the crossbar.
Following the goal, Murray continued to control the contest and Zac Walker came within inches of doubling the advantage, his volley forcing Lions’ goalkeeper Chris van Corler to make a brilliant save.
The effort lifted Eastern as Daniel Aye got in behind the Murray defence and tucked away the equaliser after 83 minutes.
Murray brought on Josh Mulcahy in a bid to find the match-winner, but it wasn’t to be.
Coach Elliot Jones admitted his players were disappointed to let the lead slip.
“You know you’re on the way up as a side when the draws feel like a loss,” Jones said.
“We thought that our effort and application was enough to get the points, but, to be fair, we weren’t great for a lot of the day.
“We were quite nervy at the start, it took us a while to get going, but I think structurally for a lot of the day we held up.
“We were probably a little bit naive and sensed that goal was coming, but we’ll learn from it and get better.
“I said to the guys before the game that there’s a massive build-up for round one, but the end of the day, it is round one and it’s a very long season.”
Jones felt the side needed to keep the ball to better halt the Lions’ momentum.
“I thought we went away from that and we started to play some rushed football, which allowed them to get settled and work their way back into the game,” he said.
“They had a couple of quick guys out wide, but I thought for most of the day we dealt with it, but they got that chance and they were good enough to finish it.
“At the end, I thought we looked the better of the two sides and could have come away with the win.”
Jones said striker Gonzlao Freddi was the standout for Murray and was largely on his own up front for the majority of the contest.
Murray remains at home next weekend against Moreland City who fell 3-2 away to Springvale White Eagles on Saturday.
Langwarrin caused the upset of the round with a 2-0 victory against Box Hill United in its NPL 2 debut.