By Callum Ludwig
The Lilydale Eagles sides faced one of the longest road trips of the season as they made the journey to Cranbourne to face Gideon’s Warriors.
Unavailability plagued both sides this week and the prospect of limited substitutions in the sweltering conditions was a concern.
The Reserves looked to continue on their fine form after a strong win in the opening round but started off the game on the back foot as their opponent looked to attack down the flanks.
Fullback Amin Fazl was a very early victim of this direct approach, garnering a fifth-minute yellow card from the referee after taking out a tricky Gideon’s winger who tried to pass him.
From there, the Eagles started to settle into the game and got on top in midfield, with attacking midfielders Mark Vanderkolk and Marcus Salvitti dropping in wide to support fullbacks Fazl and Caleb Knox and then try to break through wingers Trent Scott-Elsley and Tarin Cooper.
Despite having the ascendancy, it wasn’t until the 23rd minute when poor defending from the Warriors allowed Salvitti to fire off a quick snapshot which he buried into the bottom left corner.
The lead wouldn’t last long, however and the Eagles’ poor communication at the back would come back to bite them as a defensive mix-up only three minutes later saw a long ball beat the defence and allow for an easy pass across goal to the Gideon’s left winger whose loopy finish found the back of the net.
Only five minutes later, another goal was scored with the Eagles’ Fazl burying an unstoppable shot, his curling finish evading the goalkeeper and flying into the net. Unfortunately for Amin, it was his own net, and the Eagles found themselves 2-1 down.
Fortune was to favour the Lilydale side however, the rough terrain of the pitch caused the ball to bobble past the Gideon’s keeper from a passback, with Eagles’ striker Byron Loveless pouncing to level the scores on the stroke of halftime.
The last piece of action for the half came when Lilydale’s Cooper cleared the ball as a Gideon’s player took two touches and tried to take advantage after a foul, with the ref baffling handing him a yellow card for booting the ball away despite not properly stopping play.
After some halftime hydration, the Eagles found themselves on the back foot again, getting a reminder of why usual keeper Callum Ludwig dons the gloves and playing coach Daniel ‘Dicko’ Dickson doesn’t.
A foul by Ludwig, playing outfield so Dicko could save his legs for the firsts’ game, in the 47th minute on the edge of the box saw the Gideon’s midfielder whip a curling effort into the top left which Dicko could only watch fly past and left the Eagles with more work to do.
In the 59th minute, the Eagles had a chance on the edge of the box with striker Loveless on the ball and Salvitti open to his left. Despite Ludwig’s desperate shouts for the big fella to play in the little Italian, Loveless took on a shot from range which bounced just before the keeper, going underneath him and into the back of the net, 3-3. Gideon’s Warriors, obviously none too pleased with the display, ordered a quick change of keeper.
The heat started to play its part in the game, but the Eagles thought they could have scored a winner late when Vanderkolk unleashed a shot that cannoned into the right-hand post. Unfortunately, that was all she wrote for the Reserves and they had to settle for a draw.
The Firsts were up next, looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat to start their season.
Unfortunately, any hopes of a positive start were quickly shot down as the Eagles’ defence were exploited by the pace and directness of the Warriors’ wingers.
A corner in the third minute was whipped to the back post and scored as Eagles’ fullback Theo Georgiou could only watch the shot go past him and into the back of the net.
In the 16th minute, the Eagles were beaten for pace and a ball across the box was converted again by the Warriors, and it was a similar story only six minutes later that Gideon’s broke through again, this time with the winger beating Ludwig, back in his usual position at his near post as he sought to cover wide-open options in the middle.
The Eagles had to recoup and did so in the 26th minute when the Gideon’s keeper spilled a cross from the right wing into the path of Christian ‘Flik’ Lindner-Mark who lived up to his name and flicked the ball into the back of the net to give Lilydale some hope.
The Eagles were being afforded all the time in the world to play out from the back, with the Warriors conserving energy by not pressing high and the Eagles started to play their way back into the game, though without creating anything much of note.
By the second half, both teams were looking to maintain control of the game and save themselves from exhausting sprints to chase long balls in the oppressive heat.
Gideon’s threat down the wings that gave them such a substantial lead had subsided but the Eagles continued to struggle to make a breakthrough that would make things interesting.
The two most exciting parts of the half, unfortunately, both came at the wrong end for the Eagles.
Gideon’s Warriors had a fourth when their midfielder had his first shot from just inside the box blocked, followed by a second poked effort which was parried away from close-range by Ludwig but into the path of a Gideon’s player close by who tapped home.
The Lilydale players protested for offside to Byron Loveless, who was standing in as the linesman, but Loveless by name and loveless by nature, no flag was forthcoming.
The other standout moment of the second half came from a Gideon’s Warriors shot from the top of the box which forced Ludwig into a diving save to his right to keep from extending the scoreline further.
With no more goals for the rest of the game, the match finished 4-1 in a tough loss for Lilydale.
Both sides will be back at home to play Maroondah United after the Easter break.
