The Lilydale Eagles looked to build on their fine form from last week as they welcomed Monbulk on Saturday 10 May.
The Reserves were up first and things got off to a worrying start as left back Caleb Knox went down early with a knee injury that is suspected to be serious.
However, things started to look up on the pitch shortly after as the Eagles found Trent Scott-Elsley in space on the left wing who drove forward and finished to make it 1-0 only three minutes into the match.
It wasn’t long before the Eagles pushed forward again and within two minutes, the dangerous Scott-Elsley had scored again to put the Eagles 2-0 to the good and have Lilydale looking likely to run away with it.
Monbulk did regroup, however and began to get a bit more physical and look to run in behind the Eagles’ defence. Trying to assert themselves on the contest again, Lilydale tried to match the Monbulk physicality but ended up giving away free kicks in dangerous areas as the referee picked out infringements.
Eventually, one of Monbulk’s long balls broke through on the left wing and as the Eagles scrambled back, the ball ricocheted to Monbulk striker Atticus Cornell who scored into the empty net to make it 2-1 in the 29th minute.
Frustrated, the Eagles lost some of the control they had on the match and Monbulk started to build into the game. Only 10 minutes later, the away side had scored again to leave Lilydale reeling and wondering what has gone wrong, but they saw out Monbulk’s momentum to make it to halftime.
A tactical switch at the break saw Lilydale pack out the midfield and drop their wingers back and wider to cover Monbulk’s attempt to overload on their right-hand side and it proved helpful, with the Eagles more solid defensively and finding lots of space, particularly on the left wing.
Lilydale had most of the ball throughout the second half and pushed forward looking to regain the lead but to largely no avail. Monbulk looked to go long continuously but Lilydale cut their attempts out early and repelled.
The first big chance fell to Lilydale’s Marcus Salvitti after a set-piece as he cleanly struck a half-volley that flew towards the goal and had the keeper beaten, only to crash into the post and rebound across the goal into the Monbulk stopper’s grasp.
Late in the game, the Eagles were convinced they had found a winner as Mark Vanderkolk, shifted out to the left wing, was played in behind and finished at the near post only for the linesman to have his flag raised for offside, much to Vanderkolk’s disbelief. After a quick consultation with the referee, the goal was ruled out. To even things out, Monbulk had also had a chance in behind shortly after that was put away but also ruled out for offside.
Neither side was able to break through and the match finished 2-2.
The Seniors were up next and were looking to bank back-to-back wins for the first time in a long while.
Things started positively with the Eagles enjoying most of the possession and looking to fashion chances from tidy build-up while Monbulk soaked up pressure and tried to hit the Eagles on the break and play out to their wide players.
Despite the positive start, it was Monbulk who would strike first, with a long ball seeing striker Toby Storer facing up to Lilydale captain and centre-back Kaiden Deany-Smith. Storer went one way and then quickly the other, with Deany-Smith’s attempted challenge only managing to get a slight touch on the ball before Storer finished coolly into the bottom corner past keeper Callum Ludwig.
Disappointed but not downhearted, Lilydale got back to work trying to get back into the game. Despite their best efforts, the Eagles found themselves with plenty of the ball but little threat going forward, only mustering some half-chances or seeing their efforts repelled by Monbulk’s deep defence.
Monbulk would have the next big chance, with Ludwig taking no risks with a direct free kick which he palmed over the bar.
Despite dealing with most of Monbulk’s counterattacks well, Lilydale were unable to reduce the deficit and went into the halftime break 0-1 down. Identifying some opportunities to reduce gaps in their midfield, take time to find better options and trying to test the keeper more often were the key areas of improvement the Eagles looked to work on in the second half.
Things were to get worse before they got better as Lilydale still looked tidy on the ball but were caught on the counter, with Ludwig called into action to keep out Monbulk’s Storer after a one-on-one.
Lilydale’s improved intent would bear fruit, however, as a cross was put in from the right wing towards left winger Ethan Emmett. Monbulk’s goalkeeper came off his line but didn’t reach the ball, and Emmett raced onto it to glance a header into the empty net and level the scores.
Buoyed by their equaliser, the Eagles kept up the pressure, taking more opportunities to drive at the Monbulk defence and play the ball into dangerous areas, with Monbulk resorting to putting the ball out for repeat corners and throw-ins.
However, the next big chance would fall Monbulk’s way from another free kick. Taken towards goal, the ball would deflect off the derriere of Lilydale midfielder Connor Hartman and fall right into the path of a Monbulk attacker. His quickfire shot was repelled by Ludwig at the near post and Lilydale were able to clear their lines.
As time ticked down, it looked like the match might end in a draw until a pass on the righthand side was left by playing coach Daniel ‘Dicko’ Dickson to winger Jake ‘Digga’ Dioguardi who raced in behind the exposed Monbulk defence. Digga was one-on-one with the keeper but had no issues tucking his composed shot to the right and give Lilydale the lead in the 88th minute.
It wasn’t the end there though, as Monbulk rushed to try and score, they lost the ball in a central area with plenty of space for the Eagles’ Bailey Hone to run into and he put his shot into the bottom left in the 90th minute to put the result beyond any doubt as Lilydale won 3-1.
Both the Reserves and Seniors will play next on Wednesday 14 May in a catch-up game against Maroondah United.
