The Trafalgar Victory FC Under 16 Boys played East Gippsland United FC for their Round 11 LVSL match. On paper the game should have been a comfortable one with Trafalgar placed 3rd and EGUFC placed last on the table. However, games aren’t won on paper, rather they are won by actions on the pitch.
The first half was a relatively even contest with both teams having their fair share of possession. The Trafalgar midfield lead by Toby Budd were playing well and providing good forward movement. However, the EGUFC strikers were causing some headaches with their good team work and fast ball movement.
It wasn’t until late in the half that the 0-0 deadlock was broken when EGUFC broke through the TVFC defence to score the opening goal of the match. The Traf lads kept their heads up and it wasn’t long until Logan Winter squared a pass off to Calum Stewart at the top of the box. Calum calmly lifted and curled the ball over and around the keepers head to tie the match up at 1-1 by the half time break.
TVFC President, Lachlan Wyatt, was watching the game and gave some valuable feedback to the boys during the half time break. His observations were that the team need to pass the ball around more, to stop playing so straight and to start playing high percentage team play. Coach Mark was delighted to hear Lachy state the three points he had mentioned to the team prior to kick-off. However, he was also extremely frustrated that despite identifying these point pre-match his team had not acted upon his instructions.
The second half started with both teams throwing everything they had into the match. Trafalgar had some good scoring opportunities early in the second half and were a little wasteful in front of goal. However, when striker Logan Winter was brought down in the box, he converted the resulting penalty to put the home team up 2-1. Normality had been restored and the Victory were once again in a winning position.
However, the way in which EGUFC responded to being 2-1 down was simply brilliant. Having only won 1 match to date for the entire season, the EGUFC team worked twice as hard as TVFC, played a superb team orientated passing game and simply outplayed the much more fancied home team.
EGUFC levelled the game courtesy of a lovely free kick. They then took the lead via a penalty conversion and finally put the three points out of Trafalgar’s reach via a fast break through the Trafalgar defensive four. They indeed worked harder and played better than Trafalgar and thoroughly deserved the win.
Trafalgar on the other hand did not deal with the second half intensity well at all. There was obvious frustration on the pitch and some individuals were “found out” in terms of both sportsmanship and integrity. The vast majority of TVFC players gave 100% and fought the match out to the final whistle.
Nic Tammes worked harder than most with some excellent defensive pressure. Captain for the day Lachy Smith put his heart and soul into his game, as he does every week, and lead by example. Josh Porter played an excellent game and his work rate and determination was never in question. Likewise, Tobby Budd played a superb game until he suffered an injury in the second half. Michael Judd, whilst not his best game, supplied a string a lovely passes to provide opportunities for his team mates. Lachy Burke also played a very serviceable game as he does every week.
The final score read 4-2 EGUFC’s way. The penalty conceded by Trafalgar was 50-50 and the final goal clearly offside. However, make no mistake the better team on the day won the match. The Trafalgar team could learn a lot from their opponent on the day.
Coach Mark at games end stated “You learn a lot more about a player’s character in defeat than you do in victory” and this was clear for all to see from the body language and actions of the TVFC players.
TVFC defender Monty Rahama was the best example of how to deal with defeat, when he simply said with a smile “You win some and you lose some”.
BK’s Award: Tobby Budd
Jump & Climb Award: Josh Porter
Better players: Tobby Budd, Nic Tammes, Josh Porter, Lachy Smith, Lachy Burke
