Blog post by KATEO
The 19th of April saw the round 2 clash of the mighty Preston Lions verse the Monbulk Rangers away in the jam producing leafy town of Monbulk. In three words I can describe the weather as cold, cold and even colder. The Antarctic like conditions would bring a chill to even the toughest of players except for our courageous coach George Tseganlis, who braved the weather in only one Preston hoodie……what a man. Looking to avenge the loss of last week to Melbourne Uni, our lovely ladies looked fit, slim and super professional in our new white away strips (thankyou to the uniform department on behalf of us all). After a spirited draw from the reserves with the scoreline of 2-2 and some handy inclusions going by the names of Stefanie Oddo, Jess Byrne and our new regular keeper Nicole Paschalidis, signs all pointed to positivity. Losing Elizabeth Eyar this week was something the girls had to counter act but did superbly to make up for the loss. Going in with the same squad as last week and a informative week on the track the girls came out firing. The pace was fast, the pressure was high and the stakes were even higher. Early points could be the difference toward the latter of the season and these games are must wins.
The synthetic ground caused the ball to slide and skid in the wet making it a foot race on number of occasions. Teams were evenly matched and chances came like gold in the first half, when shots were on in it was a must to take them. Monbulk acquired a number of early chances in the space of a few minutes and the purple patch saw Preston really under the pump. Good keeping and solid defence from the Lions saw them ride out Monbulk’s numerous attacks in the form of long range shots and headers. The closest chance for the Lions in the first half came from Steph Galea’s constant peppering and Stef Oddo’s unlucky shot deriving from a scramble in the box that just wouldn’t clear Monbulks defence. Preston went into the half time break at a nil all stalemate eager to put one past the Rangers shot stopper.
The commencement of the second half saw the Lions burst out of the blocks to take 90% of the momentum for most of the half. Momentum throughout the first half was a sea saw battle and ebbed and flowed throughout. The second half was a tirade of counter attacks, corners and through balls from the BT Connor bound ladies. All of this pressure to no avail. The closest chance came from Steph Galea midway who hit the cross bar from a cheeky pop shot inside the box. It seems the way that everytime the ball was to fall for the Lions in range, the shots were blocked and that ball simply refused to find its cosy home in the back of the net. Shot after shot, run after run, ball after ball, miss after miss. Toward the end of the second half momentum shifted and Preston found themselves in the middle of a steaming hot defensive pie. Monbulk tried desperately to clinch a last minute victory and gave Preston keeper Nicole Paschalidis a good work out, that of which she did not receive in the first half to a degree. Both teams frantically trying to score within the last 15 minutes gave the game a resemblance to that of a Table Tennis tournament. Preston defence held strong as did Monbulk’s and the high intensity brawl ended in an even draw 0-0. Travelling a fair distance from our local northern suburbs, girls carrying injuries and fighting the cold gave the point gained significance and as a club we will take it. After all any point is better than none and they say a draw is like dancing with your sister, but this Preston sister is very happy with the performance on Sunday evening and extremely positive signs were taken, lessons learnt and in comparison to last Sunday, this team is edging closer and closer to that big win we deserve. Even the gods will hear us when we sing that familiar Preston winning song. Thankyou to those reserves girls who stayed behind to support the seniors and give them a chop out on field. Your work does not go unnoticed and we appreciate your support, that includes you Mumma Maya and everything that you do for this club.
Kateo’s Man of the Match for this week deserves a special mention. Jess Byrne in her first debut game for the Lions was superb. Her calmness, composure, class and the helpful talk on field was uncanny and highly similar to that of a younger and able Kateo Christoff, and yes I will take credit for gaining this signing. She is an defensive asset to this team and im sure a strong defensive unit can be built around her. The constant run of Jess D’Amore and Giuliana Pavia create great chances aswell as saving them. The steady midfield including the hard working veteran Diana Piculovski, the classy double trouble duo of Steph Galea and Stef Oddo are a force to be reckoned with when they are on song and with some work into the defence im sure the lines will start to really come together and gel as a unit like puppets on a string. The squad is more settled and closer than ever. The bond we have will take this team to great heights I am sure of it.
Well done to all the girls in a solid team performance.
Get down to BT Connor Reserve this Sunday the 26th April at 1pm to watch the Preston Lions take on Keilor Park.
WE ARE PRESTON AND WE ARE DAMN PROUD OF IT.
Signing off Kateo…