Stocky’s Scribbles: Not just a pretty face

On a relatively mild night for Darebin under bright lights, the pre-game atmosphere was electric as the NTC Girls all arrived at Oval Number Three in very high spirits despite missing Matilda’s keeper Brianna Davey.

Words and images By Craig Stockdale

Coming off a solid performance last week against FC Bulleen and with some strategic training sessions around finishing during the week, one could sense the heightened expectations placed upon the NTC Girls by the coach Dave Edmondson.

The warm up by the NTC Girls was slick and precise; sharp passing and deft first touches were laid bare for all to see – including the pensive Lalor team from across the pitch. Captain and Matilda Steph Catley headed to the center of the pitch to decide the toss of the coin and returned to the huddle with that winning smile.

Edmondson called upon young keeper Beth Mason-Jones to step up and face the music with the support of a very experienced backline that includes two Westfield W-League defenders in Alex Natoli and Steph Catley shadowed by two up and coming stars Bella Scott and Maddie Stockdale.

In the middle he placed another W-League midfielder in Cindy Lay and surrounded her with the raw talent of Phoebe Parker and Zoe Stamatopoulos to feed and learn from her game style. With the addition up forward of Eleni Fakos and Beatty Goad (back from National U17 duties in Korea) and Zoe Corbett, the week’s finishing drills could now be put into practice.

“WOW,” I heard from the sidelines.

‘”These NTC Girls are fast, fit and furious on the ball and we are in for a really tough contest,” were the early murmurings from the Lalor bench, in Macedonian accent I believe.

Immediately NTC Girls took control of the ball in the midfield and with precise distribution to the rampaging forwards of Goad and Fakos, sliced the Lalor defence open like a hot knife through butter. A deft cross to Catley sneaking up from the defensive line saw her blaze away on goal only to have the Lalor keeper safely secure a chest mark.

The rebound from Lalor saw a long bomb up forward to a running winger who was unable to penetrate the sound defense of Mason-Jones throwing herself at the oncoming ball and seeing the deflection safely over the line. The defense rallied behind her and the corner kick was repelled up the pitch where some accurate and pinpoint passing ending up back with Catley yet again to post a shot on goal but to no avail.

Twenty minutes into the game and the pace is already taking its toll on the Lalor boys as the NTC Girls continue cruising up and down the wings like Usain Bolt. Bella Scott with her carefully plaited hair streams up the right wing and with a missile-like pass splices the midfield, the kick directed into open space where Goad strolls onto the ball and launches a left foot crack past the outstretched hands of the keeper and into the net… 1-0 to NTC!

Congratulations all round in the middle as the NTC Girls converge on Scott and Goad to celebrate a wonderful passage of play from defense to offense, quickly and comfortably.

At the thirty minute mark Edmondson subs both the Zoes with Edita Mackaj and Alyssia Blewonski and immediately Mackaj is involved in a forward thrust that sees her hit the cross bar. From the rebound she distributes to Phoebe Parker who slots NTC’s second major for the evening – two goals to nil and NTC are on the warpath.

There is a real air of confidence in the step of the NTC Girls now as the whistle sounds for the end of the first half. Some very positive forward plays rehearsed during training had materialised during the game.

The restart of play sees the addition of Marianna Anthony to the defensive line with Alex Natoli pushed into defensive midfield to support Aleisha Blewonski and Cindy Lay who are working hard.

At the 40 minute mark a long throw in by Lalor saw the ball clear the heads of the NTC defensive line and with a deft touch by a Lalor forward evade the NTC keeper to register Lalor’s first score of the match: NTC 2-1 Lalor.

Unfortunately, at this stage of the match the fitness and skills of the NTC Girls were beginning to frustrate the Lalor boys and the tone of the match began to denigrate into a much more physical competition than it needed to be.

The NTC girls were told repeatedly by Edmondson to stay focused on the ball and not get drawn into the physical contest. Minutes later, Steph Catley was stomped in the ankle and had to withdraw from the game much to the behest of the NTC coaching staff.

Some really crude tackles were becoming the norm now from Lalor which did not project them in good light around the stadium. Stockdale, Natoli and Lay were all brought down heavily on the pitch and yet the NTC Girls still remained focused on the ball and continued to ignore the physical taunting by the opposition.

Some fantastic passages of play up front saw several shots on goal by Goad and Fakos thwarted by the Lalor keeper as they were literally tearing up the defensive line with their silky skills and physical conditioning.

Natoli was quietly imposing herself on the game reveling in her midfield opportunity and now, combined with Lay and Stamatopoulos, were switching and distributing play across the pitch to open up several opportunities on goal for NTC.

Shortly after, a pinpoint cross from an Eleni Fakos and Bella Scott combination landed at the feet of Edita Mackaj who toe-poked the ball past the keeper to register goal number three for the NTC and provide a comfortable buffer late in the match.

Not to be completely dismissed, the Lalor boys responded and were able to claw back another goal by streaming forward and averting the attacking approach made by Mason-Jones. Three goals to two and the gap narrows.

With minutes ticking away, the girls were told to be smart by the NTC coach and that they were relying on skill and poise to drive the final stake through the heart of Lalor.

Another impressive cross from the elusive Eleni Fakos back to the feet of Cindy Lay who nonchalantly volleys the resultant shot into the back of the net closes the game out: NTC 4-2 Lalor.

A valuable lesson learnt in playing the ball, playing smart and remaining focused on performance/style and not being intimidated by physical aggression. Well done NTC Girls.