Sale United reserves faced Falcons 2000 in the first knockout round of the Shopwell Trophy on Sunday, August 28.
Having recently beaten Falcons 8-0 in Round 14 of the 2022 Latrobe Valley Soccer League season, you’d think the Swans would have been quietly confident they could secure a win, but Sale’s 8-0 loss in Round 5 bore uncertainty.
Sale United reserves coach Anouk Meereboer described Falcons as a team with two faces.
“First time we lost 8-0 and the second time, we won 8-0, so we didn’t know what we could expect,” Meereboer said.
“We focused mainly on our own playing style and trying to start the game aggressively.”
Sale United hit the ground running, much to the pleasure of Meereboer, and the Swans quickly took the lead with a goal from Callum Campbell and Chris Kelsey.
With the majority of play in the Falcons’ defensive half and myriad scoring opportunities, it seemed as if the Swans would fly off with a reasonably easy win.
Sale dropped and Falcons bit back.
As United set their gear to neutral, Falcons switched up a gear, and the boys in blue regained control of the game, pressing Sale’s defensive line.
There it was, the breakthrough.
Falcons manoeuvred around United’s defenders, with Sale goalkeeper Cooper Kelly-Williams the last man standing in the way of a point on the board.
Kelly-Williams moved out of the goals, advancing towards the ball, and as Falcons took a shot, Sale midfielder Nick Bartlett came flying in, diving across the goal line and blocking the shot.
Unfortunately it was with his hand.
The referee awarded a penalty to Falcons, closing Sale’s lead 2-1 just before halftime.
“Going into halftime with only a 2-1 lead, we knew we needed to get another one in,” Meereboer said.
Returning for the second half, that is exactly what the Swans did.
“After a number of chances and Connor Hodges trying twice for a bicycle kick, Hodges received the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box and provided an excellent cross to Chris Kelsey, who headed the ball in and gave us the 3-1 lead,” Meereboer said.
“After that, we knew to keep the backline composed and play out the game with comfort.”
Sale United claimed their victory over Falcons 3 goals to 1.
Youngsters Mitchell Lummis, Chris Kelsey and Hamish Wain were the best of the Swans.
Lummis, Kelsey and Wain have consistently improved throughout the 2022 LVSL season and are certainly players to keep an eye on in the 2023 season.
