Wangaratta bagged three points to commence its title defence with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Albury United at South Wangaratta Reserve on Sunday.
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A defensive error from the Greens in the first half handed Dan Kelly the simplest of finishes and it would be all that separated the two sides.
Wangaratta had the better of the chances after the break as star striker Adam Burchell narrowly missed on two occasions, while Kelly was denied by United keeper Josh Fluss.
Devils coach Daniel Vasilevski was pleased with the result but knows there's a lot of room for improvement.
"Both teams started off trying to make sure they kept their structure and stayed solid in defence," he said.
"There was an opportunity where they made a mistake and we capatalised with a goal.
"In the second half, we could have scored two or three, we had some good chances, so I was quite upset with that, but it's the first game of the year.
"We're still trying to work out our combinations and I think we're a team that's only going to get better with more games."
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Kelly has had limited opportunities at senior level since he joined Wangaratta from Albury City, but Vasilevski was rapt with his effort as well as young gun Kai Lyster in midfield.
"He's (Kelly) been training with us all pre-season and he's one of the most potent finishers in this league," Vasilevski said.
"If he's in the 18-yard box and there's a chance, he'll put it away, so we're glad he could come back into the side.
"Kai did extremely well. He was good on the ball and didn't look out of place, he almost looked a level above.
"Jordy Hore was great. He quietened down towards the end, but it's the second game we've played this year."
United coach Matt Campbell said his side didn't dwell on the mistake which led to the goal and was still confident they could equalise.
"I thought the effort was outstanding for 90 minutes. Everyone emptied the tank and pushed hard," he said.
"The overriding thought and I spoke about it with the boys is we need to spend more time together.
"We've got a good group of guys and pre-season has been strong, but we've never really had everyone there regularly at once."
Aiden Rees copped a heavy knock late in the game and left the field in pain, while Myles Carey was also substituted in the first half.
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