Yarra Valley Soccer Club Men’s Firsts – Round five vs Blackburn:
On a beautiful day for football at Millgrove, Blackburn New Hope visited the Valley for our Round five clash.
Last season’s match between these two clubs saw a heavy defeat to Valley, so there was something to be earned today and a point to prove.
The first half started with an air of authority around the boys in blue.
New season signing Mitch Anderson took the striker position for the first time, and was a constant thorn in the side for the Blackburn centre backs with his energetic runs in behind and high pressure.
The midfield trio of Kinsella, Atanasov and Tomlinson were organised and hard to break down, resulting in the Blackburn team, known for their attractive style of football, resorting to a direct approach.
This suited Valley, with the returning Brandon Watson a match for everything that came his way.
Full backs Joel Ryan and Baya Litchfield, key members of the back line continued to be reliable as they had in every game so far, all marshalled by captain Kaine Abela.
It was a strong performance, and the reward was coming.
Some impact substitutions saw Winjo Williams, the valley stalwart make a marauding run down the right hand side, knocking the ball past the Blackburn defenders that had been on their heels all half.
His run to the by-line saw a square pass to Jack Eyssens, who continued his fine form in front of goal with a powerful finish to make it 1-0 right on the stroke of half time, and deservedly so.
The second half resumed in the same fashion, with Valley controlling the engagements all across the pitch.
A physical but competitive game saw key challenges at either end of the field.
A last ditch tackle by the Blackburn centre back was all that prevented Williams from netting the second of the game around the 60th minute mark and putting the game to bed.
At the other end, a number of important defensive contributions from Ryan, Litchfield and keeper Aden Kerridge kept the tie in the balance.
Then the injuries struck.
First off was Harry Eyssens, a precautionary substitution to prevent further damage as he had just returned from injury himself.
Then Watson had to also be changed, which lead to Atanasov stepping into the back line in his stead, with Oscar Lyons, Kinsella and Tomlinson holding the fort in midfield.
Blackburn saw their opportunity to press forward, and tried to ramp up the pressure by putting balls in behind for their attackers to chase down.
However, Ryan, Kerridge and Atanasov kept them all at bay, and Kinsella was majestic in the middle of the park, winning aerial duels left and right and holding up possession neatly when it was at his feet.
Unfortunately, it didn’t end there.
Captain Abela suffered from a rolled ankle on the Millgrove paddock, and it was the last change of the game allowed.
Into the last few moments, and a nasty head injury saw Atanasov leave the field bleeding and Valley down to 10 men for a Blackburn corner.
With everybody back, Blackburn put it in the mixer and threw everything at it.
It was a scramble in the box, with defensive challenges flying in at a last ditch effort to keep the ball out of the net.
In controversial circumstances, Blackburn were awarded a goal that may or may not have crossed the line, well past the allotted 90 minutes of the game.
1-1, and it was deflating to see a Valley team work so hard and get nothing to show from the game but a measly point, against a far superior club on paper.
An injury to Jack Eyssens marred the last bit of frustration for Valley to end the game with the points shared.
At the end of the day, it was a performance to be proud of and tough to select a Player of the Game from the entire squad.
Onto next week’s clash against St Paul’s.
