THE Swan Hill men’s soccer team will enter their Bendigo Amateur Soccer League Super Cup finals series as the team to beat, after accounting for La Trobe University Red by five goals in their top of the table clash on Saturday.
The Swans were in control from the start, scoring three first half goals to take a 3-0 lead, before doubling their score in the second half to finish with a 6-1 victory.
It was Swan Hill’s 14th consecutive win, with the Swans sitting 15 points clear of La Trobe University Red on top of the table, with the team now progressing straight through to the preliminary final on Sunday, September 8, at a venue to be determined.
Although Saturday’s performance was one that pleased Swan Hill coach Tony Di Palma, the long-time Swans leader was quick to point out that his team still had plenty of work to do.
“The boys were fantastic, it was one of our best games for the season and to perform as we did and score as we did against a really quality opponent was impressive to watch,” Di Palma told The Guardian post-match.
“That said, we can’t take it easy yet as the job is far from done.
“We know we are going to have a big target on our back now and every team will be coming for us, which we will be ready for.
“Our best is very good, but we have to ensure we are producing our best in every game because there are no second chances for us now.
“We have two weekends off now and having that length of time off can sometimes affect your form, so we’ll be putting in plenty of work on the training track to make sure we hit the ground running in a few weeks time.”
Conner Brown again led the way for the Swans after scoring two goals, with the Swan Hill striker sewing up his third straight BASL division 2 golden boot award after kicking 27 goals for the second season in a row.
Also hitting the back of the net for the Swans was Cooper Fox, Gareth Johansen, Stephen Whittaker and Joseph Costa, with the quartet also among Swan Hill’s better players in the 6-1 win.
It was a relatively successful weekend for Swan Hill as a club, with the under-16 girls also readying themselves for their upcoming Super Cup finals campaign with a win over rivals Spring Gully Warriors, while Swan Hill’s women’s and under-16 boys teams secured draws.
Ella Semeia scored a hat-trick for Swan Hill’s under-16 girls in their 5-3 win over Spring Gully, with Trinity Shelton and captain Charley Baskin also scoring.
The Swans will need to await the result of this Saturday’s match between Castlemaine Gold and Kyneton District to determine who they will play in their semi final in a fortnight’s time, with Castlemaine needing to beat the Rangers in order to leapfrog Golden City into second place on the ladder.
Swan Hill’s women’s team had to be content with a 1-all draw in their final match of the season against Epsom Stingers.
The Swans took an early lead after Malyna Tants converted a first half penalty, but were unable to extend their lead despite creating several strong opportunities to score.
Their lead was then taken from them in the second half after they too conceded a penalty, which despite being saved by goal keeper Sarah Scott, was then poked past her outstretched hand by Tricia Sambrooks.
Despite both teams continuing to attack over the remaining 25 minutes, the deadlock couldn’t be broken, with the tie seeing Swan Hill finish the home-and-away season one spot outside the finals in seventh.
It was a similar story for Swan Hill’s under-16 boys team, who had to settle for a 2-all draw against Epsom Scorpions in their final match of the season.
Sonny Tucker and Alexander Olandezos were the goal scorers for Swan Hill, with both goals coming in the second half after Epsom took a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Also in action for the final time this season was Swan Hill’s youth boys team, which suffered a 10-0 loss to Castlemaine Goldfields FC on the road.
