The Lady Falcons may not have won yesterday but their nil-all draw against RSL will go down as one of the upsets of the season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$1/
(min cost $8)
Login or signup to continue reading
Since the Falcons joined division one in the second half of the season they have been winless, while RSL have remained undefeated all season and are one of the competition favourites with finals just around the corner.
The last time the sides met, RSL ran away with a 13-0 win, which goes to show just how much the Falconettes have improved since the opening day of the season.
Coach Greg Lillyst was extremely proud of his team’s performance.
“They played absolutely fantastic,” he said.
“We pressured their goal and another ten minutes and we would have been in with a chance of rolling them.
Despite heading into the clash as clear underdogs, Lillyst said the result was not down to RSL having an off day, but rather and improved performance by the Falcons.
“In order to contest we made some changes and put Melissa Gibbons at defensive midfielder which really seemed to work,” he said.
“We played some fantastic one-two passes all over the field and held them out of their danger zone.
“Sam Perring played goalkeeper and was fantastic pulling off some outstanding saves to frustrate them.”
“We’re the closest any team has come to beating them this year so the girls are very chuffed.”
When asked which players really stepped up on Sunday, coach Lillyst said it would be unfair to single a player out given the team performance demonstrated by his side.
“They all seemed to click and really communicated well so I could name every girl in the side,” he said.
“They all had really good games and matched up really well so I wouldn’t know where to start, it was very very impressive.”
Although the Falcons were unable to score, they still created a lot of chances which is an achievement in itself against a side like RSL.
In the latter stages of the second half, the Gulgong side’s midfield was even able to dominate possession, something that will give them huge confidence heading into next season when they are bound to improve even more.
It remains to be seen whether the Falcons will replay their game against Wellington next week which was postponed due to bad weather.
If Sunday’s game against RSL was indeed their last of the year however, the Falcons have certainly gone out on a high.
