THE Swan Hill Soccer League celebrated 50 years in style on Saturday, with all four Bendigo Amateur Soccer League teams recording wins.
In what proved to be a celebration of the world game in Swan Hill, it was a also a celebration for the men’s team, who took a big step towards a top two finish and a Super Cup finals double chance with a 2-1 win over Border Raiders FC.
After going down 1-0 in the 10th minute, the Swans responded through Cooper Fox, with the captain scoring both the equaliser and match winner.
Fox’s first goal came in the 27th minute following some poor defensive play from the Raiders, with the match going in at one-all at the main break.
While both teams attacked in the second half, neither side was able to break the deadlock with the match appearing destined to end in a tie.
That all changed 10 minutes from full-time however, when Fox launched into a stunning strike from outside the box which cleared goalkeeper Christopher Knight’s hands and found the top corner of the net.
It was an individual performance that earned praise from Swan Hill men’s coach Tony Di Palma, who spoke with The Guardian after the match.
“He (Fox) was outstanding today and really led from the front, he played a really good captain’s game,” Di Palma said.
“I felt as a whole, we may may have been a little bit overwhelmed, but Cooper really led the way, and that second goal he scored was just sensational.
“Maybe the occasion got the better of us a little bit and we didn’t really play with our usual flair, but at the end of the day we won the game and that’s all anyone can really ask.
“It was a huge day and a huge occasion for our club and we needed to make sure we got the result, even though we’ve come out of it with a few sore and tired bodies.”
Conner Brown was one of those players to walk away from the match under an injury cloud, with the Swan Hill striker met solidly late in the game and suffering a corked thigh.
The men were matched by Swan Hill’s under-14s team, who earlier secured a dominant 6-1 win over Golden City Merinos, Conor Mcgovern and Konnah Green scoring two goals each and Jesse Crooymans and Boyd Jilbert also scoring.
Both the under-16s and women’s teams also came away from the weekend with the points, albeit in slightly more disappointing circumstances, with both teams winning following forfeits on Friday afternoon.
While the under-16s game went ahead with seven Border Raiders FC players making the trek to Swan Hill to play, the women’s team were left without an opponent, with a intraclub practice match arranged in its place.
While the women’s team still managed to showcase their talents, the absence of their opponent, Latrobe University, left a somewhat sour taste on what was a day of celebration for the Swan Hill Soccer League, according to women’s coach Shane Fleming.
“To be blunt, it was pretty disappointing to get that call, especially late Friday afternoon,” Fleming said.
“It was fantastic to see our girls get out there and have a kick regardless of what happened on Friday and it was equally pleasing to see a few of our former players put the boots on and join in too.
“That’s the silver lining to the day, the fact the team still wanted to get out there and put on a show and showcase their ability was an absolute credit to them and I honestly couldn’t be prouder of how they handled the situation.
“The reasons that were given by Latrobe were that they had players unavailable, injuries and a couple of girls fall pregnant a month ago.
“Fair enough, they’re all valid reasons, but why did it take until Friday afternoon to forfeit?
“They left us no time to try and find a replacement team when they were fully aware of how important this day was to our club and our team, it just isn’t and wasn’t good enough.
“In their notice to us they said they had to prioritise long term strategic objectives for their club which to be honest is just nonsense.
“I note with interest that their league one side played with and named 16 players on their team sheet on Saturday, so both Latrobe teams could have played with eight players each which by the rules of competition constitutes a game.
“As a team and a club, we’ve had a gutful of this sort of treatment, and it’s about time the governing body put in place some harsher punishments for forfeits.”
