THE Swan Hill men’s soccer team have won their first trophy in two seasons, with a three-goal win over Golden City White on Saturday handing them the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League division 2 championship.
The 4-1 victory gives the Swans an unassailable 10-point lead at the top of the division 2 table with three rounds remaining.
It is the team’s second championship in three seasons, with their last title having come back in 2022, with 11 players from Swan Hill’s previous championship-winning squad taking part in this year’s unbeaten campaign.
Also remaining from the club’s previous title is their coach Tony Di Palma, who told The Guardian how “honoured” he was to lead such a “talented group of players.”
“I’m incredibly proud of the boys, I said after the match that it feels like I’ve got 16 sons out there,” Di Palma said post-match.
“They all did exactly what was asked of them, the way they play, you can see them gelling every week and they just did what they had to do on the weekend.
“They all get along really well off the field and on the field, they all have their role to play and they put it into practice every single week and make things happen.”
A blustery gale made conditions far from ideal for the season defining match, with the team unable to play their long passing style in the windy conditions.
The conditions had little affect on the home side, who despite a nervous start, were the first to score through striker Conner Brown in the first half.
With the score at 1-0, the defining moment then came in late in the opening half, when Golden City goalkeeper Isaac Newstead was red carded for deliberately handling the ball outside the box, forcing the Rams into a reshuffle.
Although Swan Hill failed to score from the kick, they were still able to maintain their lead into the break, before Gareth Johansen and captain Cooper Fox put the game beyond reach with their first goals of the afternoon mid-way through the second half.
Golden City’s Elliott Boucher reduced the margin to two goals with the Rams first, but that would be the visitors only joy for the afternoon, with a stunning strike from Jason Stokes from the half way line sailing into the top corner late in the match to complete the 4-1 win.
“The conditions were pretty bad, the wind was swirling a lot which made it really hard for the boys to control and pass at times,” Di Palma said.
“Normally, with the way we play, we just couldn’t execute in the conditions in either the first half or the second half.
“We created some decent chances though, but at the same time it wasn’t a game that we could sit down and say gee that was a great performance just because of the conditions.
“The boys seemed pretty nervous early, but they settled down quickly and played as a team.
“There were no standouts and everyone played their role and they all put it together at the end to come away with the result we wanted.”
Despite claiming the championship title, Swan Hill’s season will continue, with three more home-and-away matches before a guaranteed Super Cup preliminary final appearance.
“We made it very, very clear at the end of Saturday’s game that our season isn’t done and we still have more to achieve,” Di Palma said.
“It’s great that we’ve won this trophy but we still have plenty more work to do and we need to make sure we get that super cup at the end of the season as well.”
The remaining results were less positive for Swan Hill over the weekend, with the club’s youth boy’s and under 16 girls’ teams the only other teams to take to the pitch.
The the youth boys fell to a 4-1 loss to Spring Gully United White at home on Sunday, with Bailey Johnson scoring the team’s only goal in the first half.
It was a similar story for the club’s under 16 girls, who were beaten by Castlemaine Gold 6-1 in inclement conditions, striker Trinity Shelton finishing as the team’s lone goal scorer.
Swan Hill’s under 16 boys/ team had their away match against Kyneton District on Saturday morning postponed after torrential overnight rain made the Kyneton pitch unplayable, while the Swan Hill women’s team had a bye.
