Summary: South Melbourne have progressed to the next round of the FFA cup after defeating Essendon Royals SC 1-0. Despite their difference in divisions, Essendon denied South the chance to capitalise on their dominant possession.
Gone are the days where we can sit comfortably and relish in our team utterly dominating a lower tier club. A lot has happened since our entrance into the 2016 FFA Cup (where we beat Keysborough SC 10-0), and revisions in expected quality must be made. We’ve had nine games to gauge our positioning in the NPL, and thanks to this competition, we are also able to gauge how we fair against the lower tiers of Victorian football. I was never expecting anything less than a win, but I knew it would come after a frustrating 90 minutes. Our lack of goal scorers would prevent an onslaught, but hopefully their inexperience at a more professional level would give us enough leeway to win. Whether it was to rest players, or to experiment, both Marafioti brothers found themselves on the pitch, along side Kristian Konstantinidis and Ben Djiba for the third consecutive week. Our captain Brad Norton was absent, an injury obtained during our clash with Hume more serious than anticipated. I was sympathetic for Brad, but more intrigued than worried about the formation.
Our start was consistent with all our other matches, gaining a majority of possession but lacking a threatening presence. You’d expect us to create the amount of opportunities we did, but for them to be able to reply with such aggression was surprising. They had the best chances in the first few minutes, one in which the ball was either dropped by Roganovic or left to bounce around the penalty box by defenders, and was almost converted. Giordano had a decent attacking presence, but had his best opportunity in the ninth minute, where he took on multiple defenders before having his shot blocked by the keeper. This shot was followed by his brother’s less appealing attempt. Despite playing on the wing, Giuseppe lacked the pace necessary (compared to say Krousoratis), particularly when long balls were played up the pitch, and it felt like Sylaidos was required to shift from his central role to bring it up. There was then a handful of golden opportunities squandered by our various midfielders, mistakes that, if made in our current division, would more likely than not be punished. Luckily they weren’t, but it was more frustrating than reassuring.
When we did finally score, it felt long overdue. A decent setup by Konstantinidis allowed Luke Adams to smash the ball into the back of the net. It wasn’t the most glamorous of strikes, but it went in, which is more than what our more skilful efforts have produced. After the goal, it felt like our defence began to falter slightly in response to their flurry of attempts. We looked very uncomfortable defending, often conceding silly fouls. We were lucky that quite a few calls were played in our favour, as I could see the panic in our players as they tugged on shirts and arms. In saying that, once again, Ben Djiba was the best player on ground. His consistency is almost as exceptional as his utility, and in particular this match saw him closing down players on the wing multiple times. When he goes to ground, he gets the ball almost every time, and shows a composure our players should aspire to possess.
At half time, it was clear we should win this match, but just because we should doesn’t mean we would. We played like we had all season. And while a state 1 team may not be able to capitalise on our ineptitude, playing against them very much emphasised what we lacked. As the second half started, we didn’t seem like we were that interested in scoring. If we weren’t threatening when we were trying, than the next half was going to be breezy. In the 59th minute, we saw a double sub, and with it an unacceptable lack of discipline. To hear murmurings of it is one thing, but to see it physicalise on the pitch was very worrying. Another instance of individualism hindering our plays. After an unfortunate display in our match against Green Gully, Zac Bates was given extended playing time, and brought with him a renewed sense of pace. He made a few meaningful runs, one in which he almost beat the keeper in a one-on-one.
Credit must be given to Essendon’s goalkeeper, how was required to make some great saves. He had to tip awkward balls over the net on multiple occasions, and a fingertip save passed Krousoratis’ shot onto the woodwork, still leaving the player goal-less since round 1. Similar saves were made for attempts by Sylaidos and Schroen, almost turning his skill into tedium. What was frustrating to see was that our best attempts were on bizarre angles, which would have made for absolutely fantastic goals, but only emphasised our lack of accuracy when right in front of the net.Towards the last ten minutes Essendon began to blend desperation with aggression, and retained much more possession than I was comfortable with. While, for the most part, we seemed on top of them, a few defensive errors, mixed with our clumsy challenges provided them with opportunities. It shouldn’t have felt as close as it did during injury time, but in saying that, I’m not sure why the referee thought it was appropriate to award 5 minutes of it.
Nonetheless, we secured victory, and progress to the next round. So far, we haven’t won a game by more than a goal, and this match was probably our best opportunity at doing so. Still, hopefully Quintas gained some intel on his squad, and the win instilled confidence within our ranks. While I don’t expect us to go very far in the FFA cup, any extra match time to refine our plays, particularly against lower league teams, seems like a blessing.
Notable players: Ben Djiba, Gerrie Sylaidos
South Melbourne FC: 1
Essendon Royals SC: 0
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