FOOTBALL
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A barely recognisable Dapto Dandaloo Fury side got their Fraternity Cup campaign under way with a 2-1 win over Cringila Lions yesterday.
They had made a host of off-season changes to their playing roster, after a disappointing 2013 season.
Yesterday, the Fury made the most of goals midway through both halves to score a scrappy group A victory at Tarrawanna Oval.
But, despite the win, the first-up performance again left coach Norm Boardman demanding more from his troops.
"It wasn't good enough, even as a starting point," Boardman said.
"Our ability to keep the ball was terrible and that is what we pride ourselves on. We turned the ball over far too much and basically kept them in the game.
"The only good thing for me was that we got 70 minutes on our legs. But in terms of application and execution it was terrible."
One of the few bright spots for the Fury came in the first half, courtesy of promoted youth league goal-scoring machine Shaun McRae.
Trialling midfielder Steven Lee volleyed an over-hit cross into his path and the young attacker made no mistake from six yards.
His assister was one of two players in lime green trialling for the Fury - Hiroaki Kawasaki was manning Lee's opposite flank.
The addition of these two, along with the arrival of Ryan Suttle and youth league promotions of McRae and Jake Powell, made for a new Fury line-up.
But Boardman believes it was no excuse for their underwhelming display.
"They have all got good pedigree, they have all played at a decent level. There was nothing special that we asked from the players apart from passing and moving off the ball," Boardman said.
"That is what we do, that is our bread and butter and we weren't good enough today.
"We have got certain standards in our club and even though we have four or five new players out there, it is not good enough.
"Standards are there to be set and maintained - we are not going to settle for that."
In the Fury's defence, Cringila rarely made life easy for the 2012 Premier League winners in an often niggly affair north of Wollongong.
The Lions eventually got rewards for their continued pressure in the second half, with a goal to Marco Micevski after Fabian Lacovelli had made it 2-0 to the Fury.
In group A's other fixture, defending Illawarra Premier League champions Port Kembla had a 1-1 draw with Albion Park White Eagles.