The Lilydale Eagles were back after an extended hiatus due to the postponement of their matches last week against Maroondah United, this week taking on Croydon Ranges at home.
The Reserves got off to a blistering start when, in the eighth minute, a nice move down the left wing resulted in a nice ball across the box by Trent Scott-Elsley being finished off by his opposite winger Tarin Cooper.
In windy conditions, things then got tighter as the players tried to adjust and it was Croydon who did first, with a couple of balls over the top that held up in the wind calling Lilydale keeper Callum Ludwig into a couple of one-on-one saves.
Eventually, the Eagles got back on top and it was Cooper who struck again in the 34th minute, managing to bundle the ball home after despite the desperate efforts of a scrambling Croydon defence.
Despite Lilydale’s dominance, this remained the scoreline at halftime.
After the break, the first big chance came when Cooper was brought down in the box and awarded a penalty, stepping up to take it with a hatrick on the line, only to place his shot down the middle and skimming off the bar.
The Eagles took some time to extend their lead but the dam wall broke when they did.
First Byron Loveless made it 3-0 in the 71st minute, denying Cooper another chance to complete his hatrick, after he got to a scrappy ball in the box first.
Five minutes later Mark Vanderkolk made it four after he skipped past multiple Croydon players and placing a shot that the keeper couldn’t keep up despite getting a touch to it.
Then Scott-Elsley got in on the action with a quick fire brace within a minute of each other to the Eagles up by six by the 83rd minute mark.
The rout was then completed by Daniel ‘Dicko’ Dickson who scored an Olympico goal directly from a corner to make it 7-0. An Olympdicko if you will.
The Seniors were up next and looking to get back on the winner’s list.
Things got off to a poor start when in the sixth minute, Croydon’s Sai Cung was played through on the left wing and managed to poke home his finish into the bottom corner.
Getting back to business, Lilydale came close when Leo Blair rose highest from a corner but his glancing header was just off target.
From then on, the Eagles got on top and were rewarded when Bailey Hone was tripped up in the box and a penalty was awarded.
Connor Hartman stepped up and cooly buried his finish into the top left corner to level the scores.
Lilydale, playing with the wind in the first half, were finding plenty of joy on the wings, particularly the right-hand side where Jake ‘Digga’ Dioguardi had the Croydon left back on toast in the first half.
Digga was at the forefront in the 36th minute when he found in himself with time and space aplenty on the right wing, calmly found Hartman at the edge of the box who whipped a sweeping finish into the bottom left corner to give Lilydale the lead which they held to halftime.
Playing against the win in the second half, Lilydale found themselves under more pressure.
The Eagles struggled to create many attacks of substance and found themselves facing more pressure as Croydon pushed onward.
Croydon came close when a cutback made it to the edge of the box and the ensuing sot was kept out by a diving Ludwig.
Lilydale’s efforts to get forward would repeatedly peter out without getting deep into their opposition’s half but did manage to prevent Croydon from getting many clear cut opportunities.
That was until the 84th minute, where a throw by Ludwig after coming to claim a ball was cut out and Croydon countered. The Eagles did well to drop back and cover but the ball found its way to the feet of Croydon midfielder Mang Siakhel who turned and fired home into the bottom corner with his weaker foot to equalise.
The game would end 2-2 and the Eagles will recoup to take on Monbulk away next week.
