United juniors face tough opposition
Gippsland United juniors teams returned after the Easter break for round one of the pre-NPL season.
Under 12s: Gippsland United lost to Bentleigh 2-10
The team faced strong opposition in their first match of the season, coming up against a very strong and polished Bentleigh outfit.
The first half was all out attack from the Bentleigh mids and forwards, which had the Gippsland defence of Oliver Lee, Liam Arbon, Beckham Bremner and Lewis Manzo working hard to repel many forward entries. Keeper Quinn Asmussen made numerous strong saves to hold the opposition at bay.
Centre striker Dino Grbic lifted morale in the first half with a stunning goal, which beat the keeper, helping to bring belief and a renewed focus to the boys.
After regrouping at half-time with some instruction from coach Tony Manzo, the boys settled in the second half and were able to negate the midfield dominance of Bentleigh through the good work of Sidney Box, Hudson Reiss, Lucas O’Dowd and Blake Breheny. They held possession for longer and started to create runs and links together to keep their shape and worry the Bentleigh defence.
This eventually resulted in a second goal to Dino Grbic, who converted from a Hudson Reiss corner, giving him a brace and once again lifting the teams spirits. Isaac Sharp and Harry Lee came into the game, with their run and attack bringing support to the hardworking midfield and defence. Romeo Vitale stepped into the role of keeper in the second half and was kept busy making repeated saves and defending well against quality opponents. A far more confident and energetic second half meant the boys finished with positivity and took away a great learning experience against high quality opposition. Under 13s: Gippsland United lost to Dandenong City 4-6 The boys travelled away for round one of their season proper. This was the first real hit out for the boys who have only been together for six months as a squad. The first half was a lively affair, with Dandenong City scoring early, which was then followed by another. But the boys fought back and soon scored through Clay Diston-McCann. Archie Halkett-Dobson was strong in defence and was linking up with Patrick Hermans, but they were not able to break the City defence.
An unfortunate deflection in front of goal saw City 3-1 up at half-time.
Starting the second half, the boys appeared to be a bit flat footed and second to the ball. This saw City score another quick three goals.
Diston-McCann stepped up to score a second half hat-trick (bringing his tally to four goals for the day), inspiring the team to push hard to find the winners. Unfortunately, time beat them.
The JBNPL under 14s, under 15s and under 18s will commence their home and away season on Sunday.