SALE United Swans were left featherless following defeats to Fortuna in the women, reserves and senior teams last Sunday.
Sale’s women went into the Round 9 Latrobe Valley Soccer League game undefeated and in second position on the ladder.
With Fortuna sitting in third, the Swans knew they would be up against tough opposition.
Sale women’s coach Madelaine Breakspear said Fortuna was a very well-structured team.
“The girls did really well; we really brought it to them,” Breakspear said.
“Especially with the young squad that we had, the girls did exceptionally well. We just ran out of legs in the end and needed a little bit more firepower to get us over the line.”
This season, a number of teams have withdrawn from the LVSL due to a lack of players. With the drop of teams in the women’s league and a spike in COVID infections across the region earlier this year, the Sale women have had limited game time compared to previous seasons.
Sale United women’s captain Courtney Quadrell said the side was eager to play and to get more match minutes under their belts against Fortuna.
“I think we played really good,” she said.
“It was more physical than we were expecting, but the girls held together well and we had a lot more shots on goal than Fortuna did.
“Overall, we were really happy with our performance, we just weren’t as lucky with our shots in the game.”
Despite going down 2-1, Breakspear said she would use the game as a learning curve and was confident the next time Sale United takes on Fortuna, they could walk away with a win.
“Next time, we can be a bit more tactical and have a little bit more fire in our bellies and be a bit more hungry for those goals,” she said.
Quadrell scored the game’s first goal, with the Swans holding a 1-0 lead at the main break.
Fortuna’s Grace Bonnici and Tenae Shankland knocked in two goals in the second-half for the visitors. Fortuna moved up to second place, while Sale is now third.
Sale’s reserve men’s team conceded their eighth loss in a row after being defeated 4-2. With goals from Sale United players Brandon Dance and Callum Campbell, the Swans briefly looked as if they might redeem themselves. However, goals from Fortuna’s Alex Lovison, Nickolaos Matsoukas and two from Luke Cheney prevented Sale from breaking their losing streak.
After a 10-1 loss to Moe on May 14, Sale United’s senior men’s team took the field ready to prove themselves as a worthy contender for a spot in the top six. Both teams put their bodies on the line, making for a particularly heated, physical game.
Referee Andrew Riess handed out three yellow cards to Fortuna and one to Sale; no red cards were issued. Sale United put in a guttural fight throughout the first half.
After Sale’s goalkeeper narrowly missed a cracking shot from a Fortuna player, young defender Mace Irvine flew into the goals seemingly out of nowhere, reaching the goal line just in time to clear the ball away.
At half-time, neither team had scored.
Tensions were even higher in the second-half as both teams dug deep to change the score from 0-0.
Despite Sale’s best efforts, Fortuna’s Damon Scott scored the game’s only two goals and sealed the three points for the visitors.
Sale United’s captain Solomon Nash said redeeming themselves following Moe loss was a driving force for the team.
“We felt confident that we could impose our type of game on our opponents being at home,” Nash said.
“We played a great first-half. We caused them problems, we had our chances. We went into the second half believing we could get something from the game but sadly started the second-half poorly.
“We didn’t show enough energy and sat back too much, which cost us the game.
“We were pleased with parts of the game, but we know we must now up the level in training to enable us to go again next week.”
Coach Anouk Meereboer said that the main focus for the seniors heading into the game was to put up a fight and not concede any goals early on.
“The boys played alright,” Meereboer said.
“The main focus was on putting up a fight and not conceding any goals early in the game, and that’s what they did.
“The first-half was good.
“In the second-half, we just didn’t wake up quick enough, and they scored one, and that cost us the game pretty much.”
