With only 11 players available from the men’s squad last week, the East Gippsland United Football Club made the difficult decision to forfeit the seniors’ Battle of Britain Cup match against Churchill United Soccer Club.
The reserves team travelled to Churchill on Sunday to take on Traralgon City Soccer Club in round two of the Shopwell Trophy series.
The game started with a goal from Lachlan Feather, from
a free kick just three minutes in, with Feather sending the ball around the wall on the ground and past the keeper to score.
With play centred mainly in the midfield, neither team was able to gain the advantage.
Both teams had to work hard to get the ball into their attacking half.
The few opportunities Traralgon created missed the mark, while the Eagles had similar problems with accuracy down the other end.
Frustration got the better of some of the opposition, with three players temporarily sent off for dissent and a red card before the end of the first half.
The second half started with a goal from Kyal Hood, who shot the ball in from the edge of the box, and while the keeper was able to get his fingers to it, the ball continued over his head and into the net.
In an increasingly physical match, the struggle for the ball continued in the midfield as both teams scrambled to control the play.
Scoring opportunities for Traralgon were limited, and their defenders continued to block the Eagles’ attack.
A red card to Alex Davidson and an injury to Mason Radley saw the Eagles finish with just nine players on the pitch.
But the team was able to hold Traralgon at bay for the remainder of the game and finish with a 2-0 win.
Next week’s opposition will be the league champions for 2025, Sale United Soccer Club at a venue still to be determined.
It was the final round of the regular season for the junior teams, and for the second consecutive week, the under 16 Gold Eagles played against Sale United, this time at Geoffrey Baldwin Reserve in Sale.
Unlike the previous encounter, Sale had clearly learned from their mistakes and made strategic improvements.
They attempted their first shot on goal within the opening two minutes, but the ball missed across the front of the goal.
Spencer Bastian played a big part in keeping Sale at bay and at eight minutes, he got a shot off from the left wing, missing across the goal.
In a match with few goals and many free kicks, Sale scored at 32 minutes, pressuring the Eagles to produce something special to equalise.
Just before halftime, Jesse Williams broke through, beating the keeper to equalise at 1-1.
As the second half began, both teams were eager and tense, focused on gaining a victory.
The Eagles’ Jay Sutherland came through with the goods at 44 minutes, giving the Eagles an edge.
In the last 15 minutes, the Eagles defenders blocked all of Sale’s attempts, including several free kicks, with successful saves from keeper Jackson Cheesley.
The final minutes of the game were nerve-wracking for supporters and coaches with Sale being competitive opponents, but the Eagles still came away with the tense 2-1 victory.
The under 16 Blue Eagles played host to the Sale Swanettes at West Bairnsdale and were determined to finish the season well.
The team played respectfully showing some great passing skills and unselfish play, and though Sale put up a good fight, making the Eagles work hard to keep possession of the ball, the Eagles proved too strong and finished with the win (14-1).
Goals were scored by Seth Giuffrida Liva and Harrison Dingwall (four each), Robert Christie (three), Jett McLeod-Kourie, Rahsa Long and Finvola Dargan (one each).
Unfortunately, the Under 13s lost their last game of the season to Morwell Pegasus 6-0 at Howitt Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Cup series for the junior teams start this Sunday, with under 16 Gold takes on Sale Green in Sale, while the under 16 Blue will travel to Newborough to take on Churchill United, the under 13s have a bye.
