By Callum Ludwig
It was a busy week for the Lilydale Eagles Soccer Club with two midweek matches and a cup tie on the weekend.
Both the Reserves and Seniors took on Maroondah United at home on Wednesday night while the Seniors played Dandy Casuals in the Parry Shield on Saturday, with the Reserves having to forfeit their cup tie due to injuries.
Playing under lights, the Reserves looked comfortable on the ball but lacked the cutting edge in the final third.
Their task was made more difficult in the 10th minute when Maroondah United got a breakthrough goal scored by Sam Martin who slipped in behind the defence and finished off the move to make it 1-0.
The Reserves toiled and tried throughout the half but their frustrations began to boil over, committing unnecessary fouls and losing the ball needlessly.
Playing on the larger pitch at Morrison Reserve also seemed to play into the Eagles’ weakness so far this season with space in behind for attackers to exploit and run into.
The Reserves went into halftime still 1-0 down and looking to get back into the game.
This wasn’t to be, however and again, the Reserves found themselves conceding a sloppy goal at the back, failing to cut out another chance in the 50th minute for Maroondah United which was scored by Eden Coombes.
The Eagles looked down and out and struggled to make any meaningful inroads for the rest of the game, resorting to long balls that were just off-target and flashing any shots they had high or wide.
The match ended 2-0 and ended the Reserves’ unbeaten start to the season, though they remain fourth in the table.
Rumour has it that Reserves’ scouts have identified new recruits from South Korea and Germany who will join the side in the coming weeks to bolster the defence.
For the Seniors, they looked to continue their good run of form in the league and rise up the table.
Things got off to a positive start for the Eagles with most of the play going their way and chances aplenty.
The deadlock was broken in the 18th minute by playing coach Daniel ‘Dicko’ Dickson who was on hand to tap home a simple finish in the box to give the Eagles an early lead.
Maroondah United rallied afterwards and tried to get back into the game, with Lilydale centre back giving away a free kick in a dangerous area and receiving a yellow card after he tumbled over and was judged to have handled the ball.
The resulting free kick was taken by a left-footed Maroondah United midfielder and had to be palmed over the bar by keeper Callum Ludwig.
The corner was easily dealt with and the Eagles sprang a counterattack and won a corner, which was whipped in and nodded home by the towering shiny head of captain Kaiden Deany-Smith to put paid to the uplift of Maroondah United in the 28th minute.
Within the next minute, the captain struck again, this time bundling home after a second ball came back in following another Lilydale corner and it was brace for the big bald defender.
Maroondah United were rattled and it only got worse from there as in the 31st minute, the Eagles had another as Sam Van applied a simple finish to another incisive Eagles’ move.
Maroondah United did once again pick up from there as Lilydale slicked off a little. The visitors had a penalty shout waved away for another potential handball by Lachy Hamling who got away with it due to the ref deeming his arm was not away from his body.
United did peg one back in the 35th minute through Niphitphon Khongwutthikanon and this scoreline remained at halftime.
The Eagles were delighted with their performance so far and went back out in the second half full of confidence.
It showed with tricky winger Christian ‘Flik’ Lindner-Mark earning a penalty early in the second half to restore the four-goal cushion, dispatching his shot straight down the middle.
In the 66th minute, Bailey Hone would go on to make it 6-1 and put any hopes of a Maroondah United comeback to bed.
Maroondah United did get another consolation goal in the 70th minute, when an attempted switch of play by Ludwig was cut out on the left wing and was beaten by Ronald Lyan’s looping and curling finish.
There was to be one more notable highlight with right back Braden Zammit seemingly forgetting which code of football he was playing and getting up for a ‘hanger’ of a header on his opponent and giving away a fould in the process.
The match would finish 6-2 and the Eagles Seniors are now also fourth in the league table, with both sides facing Waverley City away next in the league.
An undermanned Seniors outfit, struggling with illness, injury and other unavailability, travelled to Mulgrave in cold and wet conditions on Saturday 17 May for the Parry Shield.
Dandy Casuals were yet to pick up a win in the league but were looking to enact a ‘cupset’ over the Eagles at their home ground.
The small pitch with lopsided goals and tough conditions presented a challenge for the Eagles who struggled early to string their usual passes together.
Dandy Casuals defended deep and looked to hit on the counter, absorbing any pressure the Eagles threw at them and doing well to prevent any dangerous shots on target.
The first half remained largely uneventful with no particularly dangerous chances for either side other than a header from a corner put over the crossbar by Lilydale’s Kaiden Deany-Smith.
The Eagles tried to regroup at halftime and make the most of their possession but frustration again proved a point of struggle with Dicko giving away a free kick in a dangerous area after giving in to some niggle from an opponent. Thankfully, the free kick did not trouble Eagles keeper Ludwig.
Things simmered along until the 67th minute when Dandy Casuals won a corner on their right wing which was whipped in and lost by Ludwig in the slippery conditions. Ludwig got in front of the first shot and kept it out but it fell to George Vergakis who volleyed home through a crowd of Eagles players.
Lilydale Eagles turned and tried to get back on top, continuing to dominate general play but struggling to break down the stubborn Dandy Casuals rearguard.
Disaster struck in the 81st minute when Dandy Casuals dealt comfortably with a Lilydale corner and sent a long ball forward which Hayden Llewellyn pursued. Llewellyn got past Jake ‘Digga’ Dioguardi on the halfway line and pushed forward towards the right-hand side, hitting a curling effort before Digga could recover and the shot caught out backtracking keeper Ludwig at his near post. The Dandy Casual’s home pitch proved advantageous as the keeper struggled to get a read of his goalmouth with the goals at either end poorly aligned.
Lilydale Eagles tried with the remaining time to get numbers forward and get back into the game but to no avail and the match finished 2-0 and their cup run was over at the first hurdle.
