The Lilydale Eagles welcomed the Dandy Casuals to the Nest for their last home game of the season on Saturday 30 August.
The Reserves were looking to send off Trent Scott-Elsley in style as he made the decision to retire after this game and his fairytale ending got off to a good start when he was struck by the onrushing keeper and a penalty was awarded.
Scott-Elsley stepped up to take it and duly converted to give the Eagles an early lead.
Just five short minutes later, Lilydale would have a second when he was on hand to tap home in a goalmouth scramble.
The Dandy Casuals regrouped after this and picked up their intensity, looking to expose the Eagles with through balls, but most of them were overhit and able to be collected by Daniel ‘Dicko’ Dickson.
The chances dried up for the Eagles for the rest of the half, but they were largely able to quell the threat of their opponents too.
Dylan Donovan was relied upon once again to put in another massive block, coming across from right back and sliding in to stop the shot.
After the half, the Eagles came out stronger, closing the gaps in midfield and stringing a few more passes together but for little reward early on, while also still presenting a threat to the Casuals using the wind when going long.
Unfortunately though, it would be the Casuals who struck first in the half when in the 74th minute a through ball bypassed the Eagles’ defence and Alex Ballingall was able to curl home a tidy finish to put the pressure on the home side.
Lilydale would respond quickly after winning a free kick on the right wing. Tarin Cooper whipped a ball into the back post and Scott-Elsley arrived again with a barnstorming header to restore the two goal cushion.
The Eagles would put the result beyond doubt in the 80th minute when Byron Loveless reacted quickest to head home after the keeper was forced into tipping his save onto the bar, strengthening his grip on the goalscoring charts for Lilydale.
The 4-1 win leaves the Reserves one point clear in second place, with a draw or win in the final game set to be enough to secure the league runners-up.
The Seniors took the field next looking to get some revenge for two previous losses at their hands of their opposition this season.
It got off to a strong start for Lilydale when in only the 12th minute, an errant pass across the box from the Dandy Casuals went straight to Loveless, who was able to sort his feet out and comfortably tuck home his first ever Seniors goal.
The Eagles were able to find space in the midfield as the Dandy Casuals looked to sit off in defence, leading to many driving runs, but they struggled to find the right passing or shooting option or to release the ball early enough.
The Dandy Casuals looked to hit the Eagles on the counter, mainly down the left wing, but most of the early shots went comfortably wide or straight into the path of keeper Callum Ludwig.
The Eagles would double their lead in the 38th minute when a lovely slide ball through from Connor Hartman went straight into the path of Dicko who smashed home a confident finish into the bottom corner.
The Dandy Casuals needed inspiration to get into the game and they found it three minutes later when an improvised effort from Joshua Wells looped towards goal, held up in the wind and caught out the backtracking Ludwig who only managed to tip the ball into the roof of the net.
The undermanned Eagles were happy with their lead at halftime but knew more would be needed to be done in the second half to maintain or build upon it.
Unfortunately, it would be the Casuals who struck first after the break when Anthony Cassett stormed in at the back post from a corner to head home an equaliser.
From there, the game became a real arm wrestle with Dandy still looking to counter but struggling to get meaningful efforts on target while the Eagles found plenty of space in the middle third of the park but struggled to outfox the resolute Dandy defence.
Lachy Hamling would go into the book after he insisted the referee had made a bad call and it was very clear he thought the subsequent yellow card wasn’t the referee’s best work either given the incredulous look on his face after it was brandished.
Late in the game the Eagles took the ascendancy as the Dandy Casuals looked to tighten up their rearguard while Lilydale tried to push for a winner.
Dicko won the ball back deep on the left wing and drove towards goal, seeing a run from Loveless out of the corner of his eye. He cut the ball across and Loveless attempted to get a volleyed shot on goal but was only able to slice it and it flew away across the face of goal, followed shortly after by the referee’s whistle confirming it would be the last kick of the game.
Both Lilydale sides will head to Bayswater next week to conclude the season.
