Ducks go hunting after loss
AFTER suffering their first loss of the season last week, the Deakin Ducks will be out to redeem themselves when they travel to the other end of the Geelong Ring Road to tackle Lara United in a Round 10 derby tomorrow.
Despite the 1-2 loss to Gisborne, Deakin holds top spot on goal difference from Spring Hills, although third-placed Laverton Park is only a point behind the leading duo but with a game in hand.
Lara, which also has a game in hand, is nine points off the pace.
As such, United coach Lindsay Falzon is treating tomor- row’s showdown at Lara Recreation Reserve as a “sixpointer”.
“If we were to take the full points, we would be in a very good position to challenge for promotion as we have a game in hand. In that sense, the Deakin game is a massive one for us,” Falzon said.
“For me, however, promotion is not something that we set out to aim for at the start of the season.
“We are realistic, taking into consideration our very young and inexperienced squad and with that comes a lot of inconsistency, which we have certainly experienced. Our main focus is to learn and keep learning each week.”
When asked if he feared a Deakin outfit on the rebound, Falzon remained nonchalant.
“I’m not at all surprised they lost to Gisborne, they are a very difficult side to play. They play a frustrating brand of football and these things are going to happen,” he said.
Meanwhile, the wounded Ducks hit the training track hard, determined to consign the result to history.
“Training has been really good this week,” Ducks coach Colin Raj said.
“Everyone was disappointed about the result against Gisborne and are keen to get the ship back on course. They were all well aware that they performed well below the level of expectation set to bring to each game.”
On the eve of the derby, it was revealed Lara could be without star striker Ben Houston, who has 10 goals in the opening nine rounds, due to work commitments.
Nonetheless, Raj is not concerned with who will or will not be taking the field for Lara. He is more concerned with his own charges.
“We tend to try to focus on ourselves more so than our opponents,” he said.
“Given we are new to the league, we don’t know too much about the other teams, although I am well aware that Lara is a good team in this division. They’ve been in this competition for a few years now and they are always up near the top of the ladder.”
Apart from central defender Peter Dawe, who is back in Queensland visiting his family, the Ducks will be at full strength in the “Ring Road Derby”, as it has been dubbed.
“We will miss Peter, who has started in every game this year,” Raj said.
“But our two centre backs in Kyle Cushion and Cam Prowse-Wilkins have played together at Deakin for several years and know each other’s game extremely well. They are more than capable of controlling things at the back for us.”