State League 2
Darebin Falcons vs Eltham Redbacks
After weeks of continuous rain the Falcons pitch was looking somewhat worse for wear. The referee who arrived ruled that it was too dangerous to proceed so for the second home game this season the match was cancelled. It has yet to be rescheduled.
Metropolitan League
Darebin Falcons vs Mitchell Rangers
After some disbursement of some of the water on the pitch during the break between games, the referee for the Metro League game decided the match could proceed.
The Falcons had new coach, Justin Mitchell, taking charge for his second game. Having worked on a new formation in training and practiced some new midfield tactics, the Falcons were raring to go and see if they could provide Justin with a victory after he took over half way through the season.
The Falcons started well with some rock solid defence through Jess, Anita, Ruth and Jas which they were able to translate into attacks down the wings through Kristen and Pip. Sara help up the ball well and laid off passes to the wingers and there were a few chances for the Falcons to score but unfortunatley they were not able to make the most of them. Nyssa was brilliant in the holding midfielder role, working her way across the field infront of the defence and shutting down any attacks the Rangers attempted through the middle.
Late into the second half, against the run of play, Ruth put in a regulation slide tackle on a Rangers attacker but was considered by the referee to have brought her down in the box. This resulted in a penalty for Rangers which they converted despite the fantastic goal keeping efforts of Ange.
With the score 1-0 at half time, the Falcons were energised by the half time talk and took to the field keen to continue the good work they started in the first half against the league’s top team. Amy and Irena battled hard in the middle and Brenda came on and added some fresh legs to the mid-field. Staci come into the backline for Anita and put in some great clearances from the back line. However as the effort of running on the soft ground began to take it’s toll, the Rangers were able to capitalise and score two goals. The introduction of Ange down the left wing late in the second half gave the Falcons some new attacking potential but they were unable to make the most of these opportunties and the scoreline finished at 3-0, a two goal improvement on their last outing against Mitchell Rangers.
This coming Sunday Falcons Metro will be taking on Maribyrnong Swifts away and the State League 2 team will be away to Brunswick Zebras.