LEICHHARDT PROVES TITLE CREDENTIALS
LEICHHARDT proved why it should be considered among the premiership favourites in its 5-2 dismantling of Stratford Dolphins.
The Lions roared in the encounter, converting a 3-0 halftime lead into three vital competition points in just their second game of the wet weather-interrupted season.
Colin Juna said he was happy with the margin, but there wasn’t too much else the self-described critical Lions coach talked up – it is just their second game of the season
His focus was on the little things his side had to improve.
“Fitness, our fitness is poor, and the movement of the ball,” Juna said. “Just doing everything you saw faster and more clinical. It’s the same thing, just faster and more clinical.
“To do that, we need more games, more training, and all of that will come in time.
“You see it in some of the other leagues – some of the scores blow out, but come through the mid-season everyone will fine tune stuff and it will get a lot closer.”
Kaleab Agegnehu looked good in his first outing for the Lions while Cameron Nucifora was his dominant self.
Juna was more broad in his selection of pivotal players: he prefers to judge his side’s collective performance rather than single out a star player.
Stratford coach Alastair Yeabsley said the side’s attitude was far better compared to last week’s heavy loss to Marlin Coast Rangers despite the Dolphins slipping to 1-2.
The Dolphins have conceded nine goals in two games six days apart, a worrying early season slump after a solid start which included wins against Innisfail (3-1) and Marlin Coast (3-2 in the FFA Cup).
“The second half was a bit better,” Yeabsley said, “but it’s the same story as last week.
“The attitude was a bit better but it’s just stupid, costly mistakes all the time.
“I think sometimes they try too hard to play football. Sometimes you just have to grind, you don’t have to do the fancy stuff, just do the simple little things and sometimes they probably overtry.
“The attitude is good, the boys are working hard, but it’s just not there at the moment.”
The two teams will meet again this week, this time in the fourth round of the FFA Cup on Tuesday night. The clash has been postponed twice due to the fields’ poor condition after heavy rain.
The winner of that game will take on the winner of Wednesday’s Edge Hill – Innisfail clash at Tiger Park.
Juna said his side was just happy to get on the field after two weeks’ off due to two straight washouts, as the Lions shot to a shared competition lead with Edge Hill United.
“We don’t have any real set goal, we just get out on the weekend and play,” Juna said.
“We’ll try to achieve good things, hopefully get results, and that’s it.”