A sun-drenched Bailey Reserve was the venue for our next adventure in the Metro league. Much had been said in the press about the upcoming derby match, with the home side talking up their chances. They obviously hadn’t reckoned on the new found strength and resolve of the Yellow and Green Army.
Reserves
East Bentleigh (4) 5 v 2 (1) Glen Waverley
Has normal service been resumed, or is this just a blip in the ongoing development of our young and slightly inexperienced side? After last week’s sterling effort, we were caught on the back foot in the opening exchanges. Our main enemy was not East Bentleigh, but schoolboy errors in the midfield coupled with some Benny Hill type defending, gifted the home side an unworthy quartet of goals. The score line could have escalated into embarrassment however; Alex’s boys picked themselves up and gradually clawed their way back into the match. A superb cross from Tzekin was met on the half-belly by Ari. This thunderous shot on goal gave the home keeper no chance. At 1-4, we still believed and in the second half, we proved more than a match for the mouths of the south. For all our pressure though we could only manage another goal, again from the golden boot of Ari. Ari’s two goals plus his athletic celebrations were the highlight of the afternoon. Our reporter caught up with a philosophical Alex after the game – “No goals last week – great result, 2 goals away from home ….? At this level mistakes get punished, but we’ll learn and we’ll be back stronger than ever. We’re taking it one game at a time.”
Seniors
East Bentleigh (0) 0 v 2 (1) Glen Waverley
It’s like waiting for a bus. None for ages and ages then all of a sudden you get two in a row. Two wins out of two and richly deserved they are too. Whilst last week’s game was a nervy encounter, this week the confidence from that first win was evident from the start. The home side at no stage were ever in the game. Some tame shots from distance were all they could muster, giving Liam one of his more quiet afternoons. Liam, along with Ben, was promoted to the firsts after terrific performances in the Reserves last week. As for the game, we were in total control for most, if not all of the game. The longer the game went on, the more the home sides temper frayed. The pressure finally told. A through ball from Ian caused confusion in the home defence and Dean took full advantage. The bickering started with a vengeance and didn’t we enjoy it. The referee took exception to some feisty challenges and colourful language dishing out a bevvy of yellow cards. It was only a matter of time before the home side lost a player to a second yellow for a stupid trip on Michael. Into the second half and the numerical advantage finally told as the locals resorted to type, giving away free-kicks at will. Kon delivered a beautiful floating ball into the box which was met by Justin’s head. A terrific looping header over the goalkeeper nestled in the net ending the scoring for the day.
It was another terrific performance and very difficult to single out praise in what was a great team effort. However Anouk on the left, Dan and Julian in defence and Justin were outstanding. Interrupting the post game celebrations, we managed to catch up with coach Steve. “We were magnificent today. We had a game plan and we stuck to it. East Bentleigh had talked themselves up this week but we’ve shut them up. We’ll enjoy the win then its back to training on Tuesday and prepare for next weeks big game."